10
As soon as night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the synagogue.
11
The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.
12
Many of them believed; and many Greek women of high social standing and many Greek men also believed.
13
But when the Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul had preached the word of God in Berea also, they came there and started exciting and stirring up the mobs.
14
At once the believers sent Paul away to the coast; but both Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.
15
The men who were taking Paul went with him as far as Athens and then returned to Berea with instructions from Paul that Silas and Timothy should join him as soon as possible.
16
While Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was greatly upset when he noticed how full of idols the city was.
17
So he held discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentiles who worshiped God, and also in the public square every day with the people who happened to come by.
18
Certain Epicurean and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, "What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?" Others answered, "He seems to be talking about foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.
19
So they took Paul, brought him before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, "We would like to know what this new teaching is that you are talking about.
20
Some of the things we hear you say sound strange to us, and we would like to know what they mean.