Acts 17-19

Acts 17

¹And having passed through Amphipolis, and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews,

²and according to the custom of Paul, he went in unto them, and for three sabbaths he was reasoning with them from the Writings,

³opening and alleging, ‘That the Christ it behoved to suffer, and to rise again out of the dead, and that this is the Christ -- Jesus whom I proclaim to you.'

⁴And certain of them did believe, and attached themselves to Paul and to Silas, also of the worshipping Greeks a great multitude, of the principal women also not a few.

⁵And the unbelieving Jews, having been moved with envy, and having taken to them of the loungers certain evil men, and having made a crowd, were setting the city in an uproar; having assailed also the house of Jason, they were seeking them to bring them to the populace,

⁶and not having found them, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the city rulers, calling aloud -- ‘These, having put the world in commotion, are also here present,

⁷whom Jason hath received; and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying another to be king -- Jesus.'

⁸And they troubled the multitude and the city rulers, hearing these things,

⁹and having taking security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

¹⁰And the brethren immediately, through the night, sent forth both Paul and Silas to Berea, who having come, went to the synagogue of the Jews;

¹¹and these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, they received the word with all readiness of mind, every day examining the Writings whether those things were so;

¹²many, indeed, therefore, of them did believe, and of the honourable Greek women and men not a few.

¹³And when the Jews from Thessalonica knew that also in Berea was the word of God declared by Paul, they came thither also, agitating the multitudes;

¹⁴and then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul, to go on as it were to the sea, but both Silas and Timothy were remaining there.

¹⁵And those conducting Paul, brought him unto Athens, and having received a command unto Silas and Timotheus that with all speed they may come unto him, they departed;

¹⁶and Paul waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, beholding the city wholly given to idolatry,

¹⁷therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the worshipping persons, and in the market-place every day with those who met with him.

¹⁸And certain of the Epicurean and of the Stoic philosophers, were meeting together to see him, and some were saying, ‘What would this seed picker wish to say?' and others, ‘Of strange demons he doth seem to be an announcer;' because Jesus and the rising again he did proclaim to them as good news,

¹⁹having also taken him, unto the Areopagus they brought him, saying, ‘Are we able to know what is this new teaching that is spoken by thee,

²⁰for certain strange things thou dost bring to our ears? we wish, then, to know what these things would wish to be;'

²¹and all Athenians, and the strangers sojourning, for nothing else were at leisure but to say something, and to hear some newer thing.

²²And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, said, ‘Men, Athenians, in all things I perceive you as over-religious;

²³for passing through and contemplating your objects of worship, I found also an erection on which had been inscribed: To God -- unknown; whom, therefore -- not knowing -- ye do worship, this One I announce to you.

²⁴‘God, who did make the world, and all things in it, this One, of heaven and of earth being Lord, in temples made with hands doth not dwell,

²⁵neither by the hands of men is He served -- needing anything, He giving to all life, and breath, and all things;

²⁶He made also of one blood every nation of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth -- having ordained times before appointed, and the bounds of their dwellings --

²⁷to seek the Lord, if perhaps they did feel after Him and find, -- though, indeed, He is not far from each one of us,

²⁸for in Him we live, and move, and are; as also certain of your poets have said: For of Him also we are offspring.

²⁹‘Being, therefore, offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead to be like to gold, or silver, or stone, graving of art and device of man;

³⁰the times, indeed, therefore, of the ignorance God having overlooked, doth now command all men everywhere to reform,

³¹because He did set a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom He did ordain, having given assurance to all, having raised him out of the dead.'

³²And having heard of a rising again of the dead, some, indeed, were mocking, but others said, ‘We will hear thee again concerning this;'

³³and so Paul went forth from the midst of them,

³⁴and certain men having cleaved to him, did believe, among whom is also Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman, by name Damaris, and others with them.

Acts 18

¹And after these things, Paul having departed out of Athens, came to Corinth,

²and having found a certain Jew, by name Aquilas, of Pontus by birth, lately come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife -- because of Claudius having directed all the Jews to depart out of Rome -- he came to them,

³and because of being of the same craft, he did remain with them, and was working, for they were tent-makers as to craft;

⁴and he was reasoning in the synagogue every sabbath, persuading both Jews and Greeks.

⁵And when both Silas and Timotheus came down from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the Spirit, testifying fully to the Jews Jesus the Christ;

⁶and on their resisting and speaking evil, having shaken his garments, he said unto them, ‘Your blood is upon your head -- I am clean; henceforth to the nations I will go on.'

⁷And having departed thence, he went to the house of a certain one, by name Justus, a worshipper of God, whose house was adjoining the synagogue,

⁸and Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue did believe in the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing were believing, and they were being baptized.

⁹And the Lord said through a vision in the night to Paul, ‘Be not afraid, but be speaking and thou mayest be not silent;

¹⁰because I am with thee, and no one shall set on thee to do thee evil; because I have much people in this city;'

¹¹and he continued a year and six months, teaching among them the word of God.

¹²And Gallio being proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a rush with one accord upon Paul, and brought him unto the tribunal,

¹³saying -- ‘Against the law this one doth persuade men to worship God;'

¹⁴and Paul being about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, ‘If, indeed, then, it was anything unrighteous, or an act of wicked profligacy, O Jews, according to reason I had borne with you,

¹⁵but if it is a question concerning words and names, and of your law, look ye yourselves to it, for a judge of these things I do not wish to be,'

¹⁶and he drave them from the tribunal;

¹⁷and all the Greeks having taken Sosthenes, the chief man of the synagogue, were beating him before the tribunal, and not even for these things was Gallio caring.

¹⁸And Paul having remained yet a good many days, having taken leave of the brethren, was sailing to Syria -- and with him are Priscilla and Aquilas -- having shorn his head in Cenchera, for he had a vow;

¹⁹and he came down to Ephesus, and did leave them there, and he himself having entered into the synagogue did reason with the Jews:

²⁰and they having requested him to remain a longer time with them, he did not consent,

²¹but took leave of them, saying, ‘It behoveth me by all means the coming feast to keep at Jerusalem, and again I will return unto you -- God willing.' And he sailed from Ephesus,

²²and having come down to Cesarea, having gone up, and having saluted the assembly, he went down to Antioch.

²³And having made some stay he went forth, going through in order the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

²⁴And a certain Jew, Apollos by name, an Alexandrian by birth, a man of eloquence, being mighty in the Writings, came to Ephesus,

²⁵this one was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit, was speaking and teaching exactly the things about the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John;

²⁶this one also began to speak boldly in the synagogue, and Aquilas and Priscilla having heard of him, took him to them, and did more exactly expound to him the way of God,

²⁷and he being minded to go through into Achaia, the brethren wrote to the disciples, having exhorted them to receive him, who having come, did help them much who have believed through the grace,

²⁸for powerfully the Jews he was refuting publicly, shewing through the Writings Jesus to be the Christ.

Acts 19

¹And it came to pass, in Apollos' being in Corinth, Paul having gone through the upper parts, came to Ephesus, and having found certain disciples,

²he said unto them, ‘The Holy Spirit did ye receive -- having believed?' and they said unto him, ‘But we did not even hear whether there is any Holy Spirit;'

³and he said unto them, ‘To what, then, were ye baptized?' and they said, ‘To John's baptism.'

⁴And Paul said, ‘John, indeed, did baptize with a baptism of reformation, saying to the people that in him who is coming after him they should believe -- that is, in the Christ -- Jesus;'

⁵and they, having heard, were baptized -- to the name of the Lord Jesus,

⁶and Paul having laid on them his hands, the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were speaking also with tongues, and prophesying,

⁷and all the men were, as it were, twelve.

⁸And having gone into the synagogue, he was speaking boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading the things concerning the reign of God,

⁹and when certain were hardened and were disbelieving, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, having departed from them, he did separate the disciples, every day reasoning in the school of a certain Tyrannus.

¹⁰And this happened for two years so that all those dwelling in Asia did hear the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks,

¹¹mighty works also -- not common -- was God working through the hands of Paul,

¹²so that even unto the ailing were brought from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the sicknesses departed from them; the evil spirits also went forth from them.

¹³And certain of the wandering exorcist Jews, took upon them to name over those having the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, ‘We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul doth preach;'

¹⁴and there were certain -- seven sons of Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest -- who are doing this thing;

¹⁵and the evil spirit, answering, said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; and ye -- who are ye?'

¹⁶And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaping upon them, and having overcome them, prevailed against them, so that naked and wounded they did flee out of that house,

¹⁷and this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who are dwelling at Ephesus, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified,

¹⁸many also of those who did believe were coming, confessing and declaring their acts,

¹⁹and many of those who had practised the curious arts, having brought the books together, were burning them before all; and they reckoned together the prices of them, and found it five myriads of silverlings;

²⁰so powerfully was the word of God increasing and prevailing.

²¹And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in the Spirit, having gone through Macedonia and Achaia, to go on to Jerusalem, saying -- ‘After my being there, it behoveth me also to see Rome;'

²²and having sent to Macedonia two of those ministering to him -- Timotheus and Erastus -- he himself stayed a time in Asia.

²³And there came, at that time, not a little stir about the way,

²⁴for a certain one, Demetrius by name, a worker in silver, making silver sanctuaries of Artemis, was bringing to the artificers gain not a little,

²⁵whom, having brought in a crowd together, and those who did work about such things, he said, ‘Men, ye know that by this work we have our wealth;

²⁶and ye see and hear, that not only at Ephesus, but almost in all Asia, this Paul, having persuaded, did turn away a great multitude, saying, that they are not gods who are made by hands;

²⁷and not only is this department in danger for us of coming into disregard, but also, that of the great goddess Artemis the temple is to be reckoned for nothing, and also her greatness is about to be brought down, whom all Asia and the world doth worship.'

²⁸And they having heard, and having become full of wrath, were crying out, saying, ‘Great is the Artemis of the Ephesians!'

²⁹and the whole city was filled with confusion, they rushed also with one accord into the theatre, having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's fellow-travellers.

³⁰And on Paul's purposing to enter in unto the populace, the disciples were not suffering him,

³¹and certain also of the chief men of Asia, being his friends, having sent unto him, were entreating him not to venture himself into the theatre.

³²Some indeed, therefore, were calling out one thing, and some another, for the assembly was confused, and the greater part did not know for what they were come together;

³³and out of the multitude they put forward Alexander -- the Jews thrusting him forward -- and Alexander having beckoned with the hand, wished to make defence to the populace,

³⁴and having known that he is a Jew, one voice came out of all, for about two hours, crying, ‘Great is the Artemis of the Ephesians!'

³⁵And the public clerk having quieted the multitude, saith, ‘Men, Ephesians, why, who is the man that doth not know that the city of the Ephesians is a devotee of the great goddess Artemis, and of that which fell down from Zeus?

³⁶these things, then, not being to be gainsaid, it is necessary for you to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.

³⁷‘For ye brought these men, who are neither temple-robbers nor speaking evil of your goddess;

³⁸if indeed, therefore, Demetrius and the artificers with him with any one have a matter, court days are held, and there are proconsuls; let them accuse one another.

³⁹‘And if ye seek after anything concerning other matters, in the legal assembly it shall be determined;

⁴⁰for we are also in peril of being accused of insurrection in regard to this day, there being no occasion by which we shall be able to give an account of this concourse;'

⁴¹and these things having said, he dismissed the assembly.