Paul and Silas preach and are persecuted in Thessalonica and in Berea—Paul, in Athens, preaches on Mars’ hill about the Unknown God—He says: ‘We are the offspring of God.’

 NOW when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^aThessalonica^•, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days ^areasoned^• with them out of the ^bscriptures^•,

 Opening 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.

 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout ^aGreeks^• a great multitude, and of the chief ^bwomen^• not a few.

 ¶ But the ^aJews^• which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain ^blewd^• fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an ^cuproar, and ^dassaulted^• the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

 And 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;

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

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

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

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

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

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

 But 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.

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

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

 ¶ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city ^awholly^• given to ^bidolatry.

 Therefore ^adisputed he in the ^bsynagogue^• with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

 Then 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.

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

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

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

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

 For as I passed by, and beheld your ^adevotions^•, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE ^bUNKNOWN^• GOD. Whom therefore ye ^cignorantly worship, him ^ddeclare I unto you.

 God that ^amade the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, ^bdwelleth^• not in temples made with hands;

 Neither is ^aworshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and ^bbreath, and all things;

 And hath ^amade^• of ^bone^{• c}blood^{• d}all ^enations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath ^fdetermined the ^gtimes^• before ^happointed, and the ⁱbounds^• of their habitation;

 That they should ^aseek the Lord, ^bif^• haply they might ^cfeel^• after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

 For in him we ^alive^•, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his ^boffspring.

 Forasmuch then as we are the ^aoffspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto ^bgold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s ^cdevice^•.

 And the times of this ^aignorance^• God ^bwinked^• at; but now ^ccommandeth^• all men every where to ^drepent:

 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will ^ajudge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ^bordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath ^craised^• him from the dead.

 ¶ And when they heard of the ^aresurrection^• of the dead, some ^bmocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

 So Paul departed from among them.

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