8
The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports.
9
So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.
10
That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
11
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
12
As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
13
But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble.
14
The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.
15
Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.
16
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
17
He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.
18
He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”