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Acts 17

KJV · Chapter 17/28

1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

3Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

6And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

7Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

8And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

9And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

10And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

12Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

13But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.

14And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.

15And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

17Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

18Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

19And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

20For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

21(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

25Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

32And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

33So Paul departed from among them.

34Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul preaches in Thessalonica and Berea, facing Jewish opposition in both. In Athens, he addresses the Areopagus, using an altar 'to the unknown god' as a bridge to present the true God to Greek philosophers.

Explanation

Paul's speech at the Areopagus is a classic model of contextualized communication: instead of quoting the Hebrew Scriptures (which the Greeks did not know), he starts from the local culture — an altar and even Greek poets — to present the gospel. The Bereans are praised for searching the Scriptures to verify what they heard, an example of faith that thinks and questions rather than simply accepting. The mixed reaction in Athens (some mock, others believe) reminds us that not even the best-delivered preaching produces unanimous acceptance — and that's alright.

Fun facts

  • The Areopagus was both a hill in Athens and the name of the council that met there to discuss philosophical, moral, and religious matters — the intellectual heart of the city.
  • Paul quotes the Greek poet Aratus ('for we are also his offspring') and possibly Epimenides, showing familiarity with classical Greek literature to engage his philosophical audience.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Acts 17:1Thessalonica was an important city in Macedonia, on the empire’s main trade route. Having a synagogue indicates a Jewish community had been established there for some time.
  2. Acts 17:2Following the custom he had already kept in other cities, Paul goes to the synagogue and reasons with the Jews from the Scriptures for three Sabbaths in a row.
  3. Acts 17:3Paul uses these meetings to prove, from the Old Testament, that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again, and that Jesus was exactly that promised Messiah.
  4. Acts 17:4The preaching convinces some Jews, but gains even more traction among devout Greeks and women of high social standing in the city.
  5. Acts 17:5The Jews who do not believe, envious of the success, recruit shady characters from the marketplace to stir up a mob and attack the house of Jason, Paul’s host, trying to drag them out by force.
  6. Acts 17:6Jason was the local host of Paul and Silas, and simply for taking them in he ends up dragged by the opponents before the city authorities, even though all he had done was welcome them into his home.
  7. Acts 17:7The formal charge is serious: they say Jason is sheltering people who defy the Roman emperor’s decrees by claiming there is “another king,” Jesus — an accusation of political treason.
  8. Acts 17:8This political charge, more serious than a simple religious quarrel, is what truly stirs up both the crowd and the city authorities themselves.
  9. Acts 17:9The authorities settle the matter by taking a kind of bond from Jason and the others before releasing them, a practical way to end the uproar without a formal trial.
  10. Acts 17:10To protect Paul and Silas from further violence, the brothers send them away secretly by night to Berea, where they keep up their custom of visiting the local synagogue.
  11. Acts 17:11The Jews of Berea receive the message with more openness than those in Thessalonica, even checking the Scriptures every day to see whether what Paul said matched the text.
  12. Acts 17:12This willingness to check the facts results in many conversions in Berea, including Greek women of high social standing and a number of men.
  13. Acts 17:13The same opposing Jews from Thessalonica, hearing that Paul kept preaching in Berea, travel there as well to stir up the population against him.
  14. Acts 17:14To protect Paul again, the brothers send him off toward the coast, while Silas and Timothy stay behind in Berea to continue the work.
  15. Acts 17:15Those accompanying Paul bring him as far as Athens and then return with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
  16. Acts 17:16Athens was famous for having temples and statues of gods everywhere, far more than other cities of the time. One ancient traveler even remarked that it was easier to find a god than a person in Athens.
  17. Acts 17:17While waiting for his companions, Paul takes the opportunity to reason both in the synagogue with Jews and devout people and in the marketplace, with whoever happened to be there.
  18. Acts 17:18Epicureans and Stoics were two rival Greek schools of philosophy: the Epicureans pursued moderate pleasure and had little belief in divine intervention in the world, while the Stoics valued reason and self-control in the face of fate. Both find Paul’s message strange because it speaks of resurrection.
  19. Acts 17:19The “Areopagus” was not just a hill, but also the name of the most respected council of elders in Athens, which ruled on important moral and religious questions. Taking Paul there was asking him to formally present his new teaching before the city’s intellectual authorities.
  20. Acts 17:20The Athenian philosophers ask for a clearer explanation, saying that Paul’s ideas sounded far too strange to their own ears.
  21. Acts 17:21Luke notes, somewhat wryly, that the Athenians and the foreigners living there spent their time doing nothing but telling or hearing some new thing, without necessarily committing to any of it.
  22. Acts 17:22The word Paul uses to describe the Athenians could sound either like a compliment—very religious—or like a mild criticism—overly superstitious. It is a diplomatic way to open the speech, acknowledging their religiosity before redirecting it.
  23. Acts 17:23The Greeks, afraid of offending some god they did not know, set up generic altars like this one, dedicated “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.” Paul uses this real practice from the city as a bridge to introduce the God they worshipped without knowing His name.
  24. Acts 17:24Paul begins to correct the Athenians’ religiosity by declaring that the God who created everything, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples built by human hands.
  25. Acts 17:25Paul also argues that this God needs nothing that people can offer Him, since it is He who gives life and everything else to everyone, not the other way around.
  26. Acts 17:26Paul states that all of humanity comes from one common origin, spread across the earth within times and boundaries already set by God—an idea of unity among all peoples.
  27. Acts 17:27The purpose of all this, according to Paul, was for people to seek this God, even groping blindly, since He was never really far from anyone.
  28. Acts 17:28Paul even quotes local Greek poets to reinforce his argument, saying that their own culture already recognized that human beings are, in some sense, God’s offspring.
  29. Acts 17:29If we are God’s offspring, Paul argues, it makes no sense to think the divine nature resembles statues of gold, silver, or stone carved by human imagination—a direct jab at the Athenian idols.
  30. Acts 17:30Paul acknowledges that God overlooked this religious ignorance in the past, but now calls all people, everywhere, to repent.
  31. Acts 17:31Paul justifies this urgent call by pointing to a future day when God will judge the world in righteousness, through a specific man whom He confirmed by raising Him from the dead—a reference to Jesus.
  32. Acts 17:32On hearing about the resurrection of the dead, a strange idea for Greek philosophy, part of the audience mocks him, while another part simply puts off the conversation for another time.
  33. Acts 17:33Without a mass conversion like in other cities, Paul simply leaves their midst after this speech at the Areopagus.
  34. Acts 17:34Despite the mixed reaction, some believe anyway, including Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus council itself, and a woman named Damaris.

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