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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Acts 17 Amplified Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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and then attacking Jason’s house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too; <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>and Jason has welcomed them [into his house and protected them]! And they all are saying things contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] claiming that there is another king, Jesus.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>And when they had taken security (bail) from Jason and the others, they let them go. <p class="hdg">Paul at Berea</p><p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they entered the Jewish synagogue. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Now these people were more noble <i>and</i> open-minded than those in Thessalonica, so they received the message [of salvation through faith in the Christ] with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>As a result many of them became believers, together with a number of prominent Greek women and men. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ] had also been preached by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing the crowds. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>So at that time the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go as far as the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there [at Berea]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens; and [after] receiving instructions [from Paul] for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible, they left. <p class="hdg">Paul at Athens</p><p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was greatly angered when he saw that the city was full of idols. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>So he had discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing <i>Gentiles,</i> and in the market place day after day with any who happened to be there. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>And some of the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[b]</a></span>Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to engage in conversation with him. And some said, “What could this idle babbler [with his eclectic, scrap-heap learning] have in mind to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities”--because he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>They took him and brought him to the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[c]</a></span>Areopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), saying, “May we know what this [strange] new teaching is which you are proclaiming? <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>For you are bringing some startling <i>and</i> strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>(Now all the Athenians and the foreigners visiting there used to spend their [leisure] time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.) <p class="hdg">Sermon on Mars Hill</p><p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious <i>and</i> devout in all respects. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Now as I was going along and carefully looking at your objects of worship, I came to an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[d]</a></span>UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you already worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>The God who created the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>nor is He <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[e]</a></span>served by human hands, as though He needed anything, because it is He who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>And He made from one <i>man</i> every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands <i>and</i> territories. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[f]</a></span>your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>So then, being God’s children, we should not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination <i>or</i> skill of man. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Therefore God overlooked <i>and</i> disregarded the <i>former</i> ages of ignorance; <i>but</i> now He commands all <i>people</i> everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God’s purpose for their lives], <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>because He has set a day when He will judge the <i>inhabited</i> world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed <i>and</i> destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>Now when they heard [the term] resurrection from the dead, <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[g]</a></span>some mocked <i>and</i> sneered; but others said, “We will hear from you again about this matter.” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>So Paul left them. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/17-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>But some men joined him and believed; among them were Dionysius, [a judge] of the <i>Council of</i> Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.<A name="fn"></a></p><br /><br /><span class="footnotesbot">[a]</span> <span class="fnverse">2</span> Paul had earlier announced that he was turning to the Gentiles (13:46), but he nevertheless kept to his practice of speaking to Jews first while focusing primarily on Gentiles.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[b]</span> <span class="fnverse">18</span> These were among the leading philosophies of the day. Neither believed in a personal God; indeed, the Epicureans were confirmed atheists. Their goal was to get as much out of life as possible. The Stoics had a strong, fatalistic sense of duty, seeking to improve the inner man.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[c]</span> <span class="fnverse">19</span> Also known as <i>Mars Hill,</i> named for Mars, the Roman god of war. It was the place where the ancient Greek Areopagus Council convened and had varying powers in the course of its history. In Roman times it was where the supreme government of Athens met.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[d]</span> <span class="fnverse">23</span> While the philosophers had little or no regard for the old mythological gods of the Greeks, the temples to various deities remained and worship practices continued, at least as a formal tradition. The altar to the Unknown seems to have been constructed for the purpose of acknowledging any god who had been overlooked. Paul seized upon it as an opportunity to introduce the Greeks to Christ.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[e]</span> <span class="fnverse">25</span> Here Paul uses an unusual word which normally refers to healing. He was educated in classical Greek literature to some extent (see note v 28 and 22:3), and what he says here recalls earlier arguments by Plato (in his dialogues <i>the Euthyphro</i> and <i>the Symposium)</i> which should have struck a responsive chord in the listeners. In the dialogues, Plato represents Socrates as analyzing the nature of service to a god, and points out that the god can only receive actual benefit from service if he is in need or lacking something. Paul masterfully adapts himself to the thinking of the Athenians, demonstrating to them that the gods whom they serve with sacrifices and worship cannot really be gods at all, unless it is possible for a god to have faults or needs that have to be satisfied. This is also a good point for the Christian to bear in mind; believers are to serve God, but this is not a service that in any way actually benefits Him, because He is perfect and in no need of anything which man can supply. The same is true for the sacrificial system of the OT. While God is represented there as demanding sacrifices and sometimes enjoying their pleasant aromas, the sacrifices did not actually benefit Him. In reality they pointed ahead to the supreme sacrifice of Christ, which was the ultimate payment for mankind’s sins.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[f]</span> <span class="fnverse">28</span> Paul was probably exposed to Greek literature when he studied with Gamaliel, and quoting or paraphrasing a line from one of their poets would have surprised and kept the attention of the audience. See note 22:3.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[g]</span> <span class="fnverse">32</span> See note v 18.<br></div><br /><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015<br>by The Lockman Foundation<br>All rights reserved <a href="http://www.lockman.org">www.lockman.org</a><br><br><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br>                                                                                                                                <span class="p"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../acts/16.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Acts 16"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Acts 16" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../acts/18.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Acts 18"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Acts 18" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>