- They heard of the resurrection from the dead, 17.32
- From the scriptures, respecting Jesus, that he is the Messiah. 18.28
The Book of Acts - Chapter 17
܀ ܦܪܟܣܣ ܕܫܠܝ̈ܚܐ ܀
1 And they passed through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, and came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews.
2 And Paul, as was his custom, went in to them; and during three sabbaths he discoursed with them from the scriptures;
3 expounding and showing, that the Messiah was to suffer, and to arise from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I announce to you is the Messiah.
4 And some of them believed, and adhered to Paul and Silas; and of those Greeks who feared God, a great many; and also of noted women, not a few.
5 But the Jews were indignant, and gathered to themselves evil men from the marketplace of the city, and formed a great mob; and they alarmed the city, and came and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to draw them from it, and to deliver them up to the mob.
6 And when they found them not there, they drew Jason and the brethren who were there, and brought them before the chiefs of the city, crying out:
These are they who have terrified all the country; and lo, they have come hither also:
7 and this Jason is their entertainer:
and they all resist the commands of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
8 And the chiefs of the city and all the people, were alarmed when they heard these things.
9 And they took sureties from Jason, and also from the brethren, and then released them.
10 And the brethren immediately, on the same night, sent away Paul and Silas to the city of Berea. And when they came there, they entered into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 For the Jews there were more liberal than the Jews of Thessalonica; and they gladly heard the word from them daily, and searched from the scriptures whether these things were so.
12 And many of them believed; and so likewise of the Greeks, many men, and women of note.
13 And when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached by Paul in the city of Berea, they came thither also, and they ceased not to excite and alarm the people.
14 And the brethren sent away Paul, that he might go down to the sea. But Silas and Timothy abode in that city.
15 And they who conducted Paul, went with him to the city of Athens. And when they departed from him, they received an epistle from him to Silas and Timothy, that they should come to him speedily.
16 And while Paul was waiting [for them] at Athens, he was pained in his spirit; because he saw that the whole city was full of idols.
17 And in the synagogue he spoke with the Jews, and with those that feared God, and in the market-place with them who daily assembled there.
18 And also philosophers of the sect of Epicureans, and others who were called Stoics, disputed with him. And one and another of them said:
What doth this word-monger mean ?
Others said:
He announceth foreign deities; because he preached to them Jesus and his resurrection.
19 And they took him and brought him to the place of judgments called Areopagus, and said to him:
May we know what this new doctrine which thou preachest is ?
20 For thou scatterest in our ears strange words; and we wish to know what they are.
21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there, cared for nothing else but to tell or to hear something new.
22 And as Paul stood in the Areopagus, he said:
Men, Athenians, I perceive that in all things ye are excessive in the worship of demons.
23 For, as I was rambling about, and viewing the temples of your worship, I met with an altar, on which was inscribed, TO THE HIDDEN GOD. Him, therefore, whom ye worship while ye know him not, the very same I announce to you.
24 For the God who made the world and all that is in it, and who is Lord of heaven and of earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is he ministered to by human hands, neither hath he any wants; for he it is giveth life and breath to every man.
26 And of one blood hath he made the whole world of men, that they might dwell on the face of all the earth:
and he hath separated the seasons by his ordinance; and hath set bounds to the residence of men:
27 that they might inquire and search after God, and, by means of his creations, might find him; because he is not afar off from each one of us:
28 for in him it is we live, and move, and exist:
as one of your own wise men hath said: From him is our descent.
29 Therefore we, whose descent is from God, ought not to suppose that the Deity hath the likeness of gold, or silver, or stone, sculptured by the art and skill of men
30 And the times of this error God hath made to pass away; and at the present time, he commandeth all men, that each individual, in every place, should repent.
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge all the earth, with righteousness, by the man whom he hath designated:
and he turneth every man to faith in him, in that he raised him from the dead.
32 And when they heard of the resurrection from the dead, some of them ridiculed, and others of them said: At another time, we will hear thee on this matter.
33 And so Paul departed from among them.
34 And some of them adhered to him, and believed; one of these was Dionysius from among the judges of Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
The Book of Acts - Chapter 18
܀ ܦܪܟܣܣ ܕܫܠܝ̈ܚܐ ܀
1 And when Paul departed from Athens, he went to Corinth.
2 And he found there a man, a Jew, whose name was Aquila, who was from the region of Pontus, and had just then arrived from the country of Italy, he and Priscilla his wife, because Claudius Caesar had commanded that all Jews should depart from Rome. And he went to them
3 and, because he was of a their trade, he took lodgings with them, and worked with them; for by their trade they were tent-makers.
4 And he spoke in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and Gentiles.
5 And when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was impeded in discourse, because the Jews stood up against him, and reviled, as he testified to them that Jesus is the Messiah.
6 And he shook his garments, and said to them:
Henceforth I am clean; I betake myself to the Gentiles.
7 And he went away, and entered into the house of a certain man named Titus, one who feared God, and whose house adjoined the synagogue.
8 And Crispus, the president of the synagogue, believed on our Lord, he and all the members of his house. And many Corinthians gave ear, and believed in God and were baptized.
9 And the Lord said to Paul in a vision:
Fear not, but speak and be not silent:
10 for I am with thee, and no one is able to harm thee; and I have much people in this city.
11 And he resided in Corinth a year and six months, and taught them the word of God.
12 And when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews assembled together against Paul; and they brought him before the judgment-seat,
13 saying:
This man persuadeth the people to worship God contrary to the law.
14 And when Paul requested that he might open his mouth and speak, Gallio said to the Jews:
If your accusation, O Jews, related to any wrong done, or any fraud, or base act, I would listen to you suitably.
15 But if the contests are about words, and about names, and concerning your law, ye must see to it among yourselves, for I am not disposed to be a judge of such matters.
16 And he repelled them from his judgment-seat.
17 And all the Gentiles laid hold of Sosthenes an Elder of the synagogue, and smote him before the judgment-seat. And Gallio disregarded these things.
18 And when Paul had been there many days, he bid adieu to the brethren, and departed by sea to go to Syria. And with him went Priscilla and Aquila, when he had shaved his head at Cenchrea, because he had vowed a vow.
19 And they came to Ephesus; and Paul entered the synagogue, and discoursed with the Jews.
20 And they requested him to tarry with them:
but he could not be persuaded.
21 For he said:
I must certainly keep the approaching feast at Jerusalem. But, if it please God, I will come again to you.
22 And Aquila and Priscilla he left at Ephesus, and he himself proceeded by sea and came to Caesarea. And he went up and saluted the members of the community, and went on to Antioch.
23 And when he had been there some days, he departed, and travelled from place to place in the regions of Phrygia and Galatia, establishing all the disciples.
24 And a certain man named Apollos, a Jew, a native of Alexandria, who was trained to eloquence, and well taught in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25 He had been instructed in the ways of the Lord, and was fervent in spirit; and he discoursed and taught fully respecting Jesus, while yet he knew nothing except the baptism of John.
26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. And when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him to their house, and fully showed him the way of the Lord.
27 And when he was disposed to go to Achaia, the brethren anticipated him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him. And, by going, through grace, he greatly assisted all them that believed.
28 For he reasoned powerfully against the Jews, before the congregation; and showed from the scriptures, respecting Jesus, that he is the Messiah.
