Paul and Silas Are Sent to Berea
10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
11
The Bereans were very glad to receive Paul's message. They studied the Scriptures carefully every day. They wanted to see if what Paul said was true. So they were more noble than the Thessalonians.
12
Many of the Jews believed. A number of important Greek women also became believers. And so did many Greek men.
13
The Jews in Thessalonica found out that Paul was preaching God's word in Berea. So they went there too. They stirred up the crowds and got them all worked up.
14
Right away the believers sent Paul to the coast. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.
15
The men who went with Paul took him to Athens. Then they returned with orders that Silas and Timothy were supposed to join him as soon as they could.
Paul Preaches in Athens
16 Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens. He was very upset to see that the city was full of statues of gods.
17
So he went to the synagogue. There he talked with Jews and with Greeks who worshiped God. Each day he spoke with anyone who happened to be in the market place.
18
A group of Epicurean and Stoic thinkers began to argue with him. Some of them asked, "What is this fellow chattering about?" Others said, "He seems to be telling us about gods we've never heard of." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus. He was telling them that Jesus had risen from the dead.
19
They took him to a meeting of the Areopagus. There they said to him, "What is this new teaching you're giving us?
20
You have some strange ideas. We've never heard them before. We want to know what they mean."