Acts · Catholic Public Domain Version
Acts 17 Catholic Public Domain Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (3)
- Esther and Daniel are the Vulgate books (Esther 1–16 with the Greek additions as chapters 10:4–16; Daniel 1–14 with the Song of the Three, Susanna and Bel). Baruch 6 is the Letter of Jeremiah.
- The translator's footnotes, cross-references, chapter summaries and book introductions in the CrossWire module are not shown.
- No imprimatur; single translator.
1 Now when they had walked through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they arrived at Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
2 Then Paul, according to custom, entered to them. And for three Sabbaths he disputed with them about the Scriptures,
2 Paul, as was his custom, went in to them; and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3 interpreting and concluding that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise again from the dead, and that “this is the Jesus Christ, whom I am announcing to you.”
3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
4 And some of them believed and were joined to Paul and Silas, and a great number of these were from the worshipers and the Gentiles, and not a few were noble women.
4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas: of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and not a few of the chief women.
5 But the Jews, being jealous, and joining with certain evildoers among the common men, caused a disturbance, and they stirred up the city. And taking up a position near the house of Jason, they sought to lead them out to the people.
5 But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people.
6 And when they had not found them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers to the rulers of the city, crying out: “For these are the ones who have stirred up the city. And they came here,
6 When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
7 and Jason has received them. And all these men act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
7 whom Jason has received. These all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus!”
8 And they incited the people. And the rulers of the city, upon hearing these things,
8 The multitude and the rulers of the city were troubled when they heard these things.
9 and having received an explanation from Jason and the others, released them.
9 When they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
10 Yet truly, the brothers promptly sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea. And when they had arrived, they entered the synagogue of the Jews.
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
11 But these were more noble than those who were at Thessalonica. They received the Word with all enthusiasm, daily examining the Scriptures to see if these things were so.
11 Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
12 And indeed, many believed among them, as well as not a few among the honorable Gentile men and women.
12 Many of them therefore believed; also of the prominent Greek women, and not a few men.
13 Then, when the Jews of Thessalonica had realized that the Word of God was also preached by Paul at Beroea, they went there also, stirring up and disturbing the multitude.
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Beroea also, they came there likewise, agitating the multitudes.
14 And then the brothers quickly sent Paul away, so that he might travel by sea. But Silas and Timothy remained there.
14 Then the brothers immediately sent out Paul to go as far as to the sea, and Silas and Timothy still stayed there.
15 Then those who were leading Paul brought him as far as Athens. And having received an order from him to Silas and Timothy, that they should come to him quickly, they set out.
15 But those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens. Receiving a commandment to Silas and Timothy that they should come to him very quickly, they departed.
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred up within him, seeing the city given over to idolatry.
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols.
17 And so, he was disputing with the Jews in the synagogue, and with the worshipers, and in public places, throughout each day, with whomever was there.
17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who met him.
18 Now certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were arguing with him. And some were saying, “What does this sower of the Word want to say?” Yet others were saying, “He seems to be an announcer for new demons.” For he was announcing to them Jesus and the Resurrection.
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also were conversing with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign deities,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And apprehending him, they brought him to the Areopagus, saying: “Are we able to know what this new doctrine is, about which you speak?
19 They took hold of him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which you are speaking about?
20 For you bring certain new ideas to our ears. And so we would like to know what these things mean.”
20 For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.”
21 (Now all the Athenians, and arriving visitors, were occupying themselves with nothing other than speaking or hearing various new ideas.)
21 Now all the Athenians and the strangers living there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
22 But Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are rather superstitious.
22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things.
23 For as I was passing by and noticing your idols, I also found an altar, on which was written: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this is what I am preaching to you:
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, I announce to you.
24 the God who made the world and all that is in it, the One who is the Lord of heaven and earth, who does not live in temples made with hands.
24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Neither is he served by the hands of men, as if in need of anything, since it is he who gives to all things life and breath and all else.
25 He isn’t served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath and all things.
26 And he has made, out of one, every family of man: to live upon the face of the entire earth, determining the appointed seasons and the limits of their habitation,
26 He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so as to seek God, if perhaps they may consider him or find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
27 that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
28 ‘For in him we live, and move, and exist.’ Just as some of your own poets have said. ‘For we are also of his family.’
28 ‘For in him we live, move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
29 Therefore, since we are of the family of God, we must not consider gold or silver or precious stones, or the engravings of art and of the imagination of man, to be a representation of what is Divine.
29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.
30 And indeed, God, having looked down to see the ignorance of these times, has now announced to men that everyone everywhere should do penance.
30 The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
31 For he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in equity, through the man whom he has appointed, offering faith to all, by raising him from the dead.”
31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
32 And when they had heard about the Resurrection of the dead, indeed, some were derisive, while others said, “We will listen to you about this again.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We want to hear you again concerning this.”
33 So Paul departed from their midst.
33 Thus Paul went out from among them.
34 Yet truly, certain men, adhering to him, did believe. Among these were also Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
34 But certain men joined with him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Damaris
A woman who believed after Paul's speech at Athens.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:34
Dionysius
A member of the Areopagus council who believed after Paul's speech at Athens.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:34
Jason
Hosted Paul and Silas at Thessalonica and was dragged before the city authorities by a mob; he is probably the Jason whom Paul calls his kinsman in Romans.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:5; Acts 17:7; Acts 17:9
Places
Athens
The philosophical center of the Greco-Roman world. Paul engaged Stoic and Epicurean thinkers on Mars Hill (the Areopagus), reasoning toward the resurrection.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:16; Acts 17:22
Thessalonica
Capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and a key stop on the Via Egnatia. Paul's brief ministry produced a strong church and two of his earliest letters.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; Acts 17:6
Cross references (33)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Thessalonians 1:1; Philippians 4:16; Acts 20:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Timothy 4:10
- 2 Acts 18:4; Acts 9:20; Isaiah 1:18; Acts 17:10; Luke 4:16
- 3 Acts 18:28; Acts 9:22; Luke 24:32; 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; Acts 3:18
- 4 Acts 17:12; Acts 13:43; Acts 14:4; Acts 15:22; Acts 13:50
- 5 Galatians 5:26; Acts 17:13; Acts 14:2; Galatians 5:21; 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16
- 6 Acts 24:5; Acts 16:19–21; Acts 28:22; Luke 23:5; Acts 21:28–31
- 7 Luke 23:2; John 19:12; Acts 16:21; Daniel 3:12; 1 Peter 2:15
- 8 John 11:48; Matthew 2:3
- 9 Acts 17:5
- 10 Acts 17:13–14; 1 Thessalonians 2:2; Acts 17:2; Acts 20:4; Acts 9:25
- 11 Isaiah 34:16; Proverbs 2:1–5; John 5:39; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Matthew 13:23
- 12 Ephesians 5:14; Acts 14:1; Acts 13:50; Acts 17:2–4; 1 Corinthians 1:26
- 13 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16; Acts 17:5; Acts 21:27; Acts 14:2; Acts 6:12
- 14 Acts 17:10; Matthew 10:23; Acts 16:1; Acts 9:25; Acts 9:30
- 15 Acts 18:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:1; Acts 18:1; 2 Timothy 4:10–11; Titus 3:12
- 16 Psalm 119:158; Psalm 119:136; Exodus 32:19–20; 2 Peter 2:7; Job 32:18–20
- 17 Acts 13:16; Acts 14:1–4; Acts 17:2–4; Acts 9:20; Matthew 5:1–2
- 18 1 Corinthians 1:20–21; Luke 11:53; 1 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 2:8; Acts 4:2
- 19 Mark 1:27; Acts 17:22; Acts 24:24; Acts 25:22; Acts 26:1
- 20 Hosea 8:12; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Peter 4:4
- 21 2 Timothy 2:16–17; Colossians 4:5; Ephesians 5:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:11–12; 1 Timothy 5:13
- 22 Acts 25:19; Acts 17:16; Acts 19:35; Jeremiah 10:2–3; Jeremiah 50:38
- 23 John 4:22; Galatians 4:8–9; John 17:3; John 17:25; Acts 17:30
- 24 1 Kings 8:27; Deuteronomy 10:14; Acts 7:48; Isaiah 66:1; 2 Chronicles 6:18
- 25 Psalm 50:8–13; Isaiah 42:5; Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:28; Romans 11:35
- 26 Deuteronomy 32:7–8; Genesis 3:20; Malachi 2:10; Romans 5:12–19; 1 Corinthians 15:22
- 27 Jeremiah 23:23–24; Deuteronomy 4:7; Romans 1:20; Acts 14:17; Psalm 19:1–6
- 28 Job 12:10; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; Psalm 36:9; Luke 20:38
- 29 Isaiah 40:25; Isaiah 46:5–6; Exodus 20:4; Psalm 115:4–8; Habakkuk 2:19–20
- 30 Acts 14:16; Titus 2:11–12; Luke 24:47; Romans 3:25; Ephesians 4:17–32
- 31 Romans 2:16; 2 Peter 3:7; Matthew 25:31–46; Psalm 9:8; Psalm 98:9
- 32 Acts 17:18; Acts 26:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 4:10; Acts 2:13
- 34 Acts 17:19; Romans 11:5–6; Acts 13:48; Acts 17:4; Philippians 4:22
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Again they haste past the small cities, and press on to the greater ones, since from those the word was to flow as from a fountain into the neighboring cities. "And Paul, as his manner was, went into the synagogue of the Jews." Although he had said, "We turn to the Gentiles" (ch. xiii.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)
And to the Athenians Thou saidst by Thy apostle, that in Thee "we live, and move, and have our being;" as one of their own poets has said. And verily these books came from thence.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
For "They," it is said, "that have turned the world upside down, are come hither also;" and again, "They preach things contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that Jesus Christ is king." And everywhere the courts of justice were preoccupied by such suspicions, and much influence from above was needed, for their showing both the truth of the doctrine …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
For in Him we live and move and have our being, according to the double power of that Breathing into us; for we were all inspired by Him with breath, and as many of us as were capable of it, and in so far as we open the mouth of our mind, with God the Holy Ghost.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… of the expected appearance of the Lord from heaven the Holy Spirit will not, as some suppose, have no functions to discharge: on the contrary, even in the day of His revelation, in which the blessed and only potentate will judge the world in righteousness, the Holy Spirit will be present with Him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)