- 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.
- 5 But 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 Cæsar, 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.
- 10 And 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.
- 16 Now 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.)
- 22 Then 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.
- 32 And 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.
KING JAMES VERSION
ACTS 17
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Acts 17 — Paul reasons from Scripture and creation, proclaiming in idol-filled Athens the Creator who commands all people to repent and raised Jesus from the dead.
About this illustration
Athens and the Areopagus speech anchor the image; a plain altar stands for the inscribed altar Luke mentions without rendering words. Thessalonica and Berea are represented in the chapter’s caption rather than crowded into the scene.
Scripture basis: Acts 17:1–34King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Second century AD
Thessalonica Politarch Inscription
A second-century marble block from Thessalonica's Vardar Gate lists six officials called politarchs, confirming that the rare title used in Acts 17 belonged to the city's real civic vocabulary.
Acts 17:5–9
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
Second century BC–Roman imperial period
The Via Egnatia through Philippi
Paved road segments, bridges, milestones, tombs, and the street line through Philippi document the east-west corridor followed by Paul toward Amphipolis and Thessalonica, without preserving an itinerary of his individual journey.
Acts 17:1
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchaeological site
Classical–Roman periods
The Athenian Agora and Areopagus
Athens' excavated civic center, sanctuaries, monuments, and neighboring Areopagus preserve the religious and intellectual cityscape of Acts 17, while the text and topography do not securely locate Paul's speech on one exact platform.
Acts 17:16–34
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
5th Century
Papyrus P127: Acts 10–12 and 15–17 in a Greek Codex
P.Oxy. LXXIV 4968, Gregory-Aland P127, comprises remains of eight fifth-century papyrus leaves of Acts and preserves a distinctive text often compared with Codex Bezae.
Acts 10:32–35 · Acts 10:40–45 · Acts 11:2–5
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
eighth century AD (palaeographic estimate)
Papyrus P41: Greek–Coptic Acts 17–22
Gregory-Aland P41 is an eighth-century bilingual papyrus codex in Vienna whose eleven fragments preserve Greek and Sahidic Coptic portions of Acts 17–22.
Acts 17:28–31 · Acts 17:34 · Acts 18:1–2
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
2nd–1st centuries BC with Roman-period use
Ancient Synagogue on Delos
A waterfront assembly building, benches, inscriptions, and dedications on Delos provide important—though debated—evidence for organized Jewish or Israelite life in the Hellenistic and Roman Aegean.
Acts 13:5 · Acts 17:1–2 · Acts 18:4
View all 10 archaeology resources
- Miletus Synagogue and Theater God-Fearers Inscription
- The Synagogue Basilica at Stobi
- Roman Amphipolis on the Via Egnatia
- Roman Beroea beneath Modern Veria
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