Acts 17-20

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Acts 17

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews: 2 And Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the scriptures, 3 opening and alleging that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer, and to rise again from the dead: and that this Yahshua, whom, said he, I proclaim to you, is the Messiah. 4 And some of them were persuaded, 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, being moved with jealousy, took to them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people. 6 And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down have come here also; 7 whom Jason has received: and these all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Yahshua. 8 And they troubled the multitude and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

 

10 And the brethren sent Paul and Silas immediately by night into Berea: who when they had come there went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed; also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men not a few. 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of Yahweh was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there also, stirring up and troubling the multitudes. 14 And then immediately the brethren sent forth Paul to go as far as to the sea: and Silas and Timothy remained there still. 15 But they that conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens: and receiving a commandment to Silas and Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed.

 

16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with them that met him. 18 And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? Others, he seemed to be a setter forth of strange divinities: because he preached Yahshua and the resurrection. 19 And they took hold of him, and brought him to Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by you? 20 For you bring certain things to our ears: we want to know therefore what these things mean. 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing.) 22 And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said,

You men of Athens, in all things I perceive that you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To an Unknown Mighty One. What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I set forth to you. 24 The Elohim that made the world and all the things in it, he, being Sovereign of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives life and breath to all things; 26 and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27 that they should seek Yahweh, if perhaps they might feel after him, though he is not far from each one of us: 28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said,

For we are also his offspring.

 

29 Being then the offspring of Elohim, we ought not to think that the Majesty On High is like gold, or silver, or stone, carved by art and device of man. 30 The times of ignorance therefore Elohim overlooked; but now he commands men that they should all everywhere repent: 31 because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.

 

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: but others said, We will hear you concerning this yet again. 33 Thus Paul went out from among them. 34 But certain men adhering to him, believed: among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

 

 

Acts 18

After these things he departed from Athens, and came to Corinth. 2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome: and he came to them; 3 and because he was of the same trade, he lived with them, and they worked; for by their trade they were tentmakers. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.

 

5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the word, testifying to the Jews that Yahshua was the Messiah. 6 And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and said to them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from now on I win go to the Gentiles. 7 And he departed from there, and went into the house of a certain man named Titus Justus, one that worshiped Yahweh, whose house adjoined the synagogue. 8 And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in Yahweh with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. 9 And Yahweh said to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak and do not hold your peace: 10 for I am with you, and no one shall set on you to harm you: for I have many people in this city. 11 And he lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of Yahweh among them.

 

12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one accord against Paul and brought him in front of the judgment-seat, 13 saying, This man persuades men to worship Elohim contrary to the law. 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked villainy, Oh you Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: 15 but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; I am not minded to be a judge in such matters. 16 And he drove them from the judgment-seat. 17 And they all laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment-seat. And Gallio cared for none of these things.

 

18 And Paul, having waited after this many days, took his leave of the brethren, and sailed from there for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila: having shorn his head in Cenchrea; for he had a vow. 19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

20 And when they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent; 21 but taking his leave of them, and saying, I must by all means celebrate the coming feast as is my custom at Jerusalem; but I will return to you again, Yahweh willing, he set sail from Ephesus.

 

22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and saluted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. 23 And having spent some time there, he departed and went through the region of Galatia, and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples.

 

24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of Yahweh; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Yahshua, knowing only the baptism of John: 26 and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him to them, and expounded to him the way of Yahweh more accurately. 27 And when he was minded to pass over into Achaia, the brethren encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him: and when he had come, he helped them much that had believed through grace; 28 for he powerfully discussed with the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Yahshua was the Messiah.

 

 

Acts 19

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples: 2 and he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said to him, No, we did not so much as hear that the Holy Spirit was given. 3 And he said, Into what then were you baptized? And they said, Into John’s baptism. 4 And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Yahshua. 5 And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Sovereign Yahshua. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with other tongues, and prophesied. 7 And they were in all about twelve men.

 

8 And he entered into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months, reasoning and persuading as to the things concerning the Kingdom of Yahweh. 9 But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for the space of two years; so that all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of Yahweh, both Jews and Greeks. 11 And Yahweh performed special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 so that to the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out. 13 But certain also of the traveling Jews, exorcists, took upon them to name over them that had the evil spirits the name of the Sovereign Yahshua, saying, I command you by Yahshua whom Paul preaches. 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, Yahshua I know and Paul I know, but who are you? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, that lived at Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Sovereign Yahshua was magnified. 18 Many also of them that had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds. 19 And not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the price of them, and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of Yahweh grew mightily and prevailed.

 

21 Now after these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for awhile.

 

23 And about that time there arose no small stir concerning the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no little business to the craftsmen; 25 whom he gathered together, with the workmen of the same occupation, and said, Sirs, you know that by this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear, that not only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many of the people, saying that they are not elohim, that are made with hands: 27 and not only is there danger that this our trade might become contemptible; but also that the temple of the great mighty one Diana be made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence whom all Asia and the world worships. 28 And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 29 And the city was filled with confusion: and they rushed with one accord into the theater, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s traveling companions. 30 And when Paul was thinking of entering in to the people, the disciples did not permit him. 31 And certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent to him and entreated him not to venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in confusion; and the greater part did not know why they were gathered together. 33 And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made a defence to the people. 34 But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he said, You men of Ephesus, what man is there that knows not that the city of the Ephesians is a temple-keeper of the great Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet, and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought here these men, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our mighty one. 38 If therefore Demetrius, and the craftsmen that are with him have a matter against anyone, the courts are open, and there are procounsuls: let them accuse one another. 39 But if you seek anything about other matters, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For indeed we are in danger to be accused concerning this day’s riot, there being no cause for it: and as touching it we shall not be able to give account of this concourse. 41 And when he had spoken this, he dismissed the assembly.

 

 

Acts 20

And after the uproar ceased, Paul having sent for the disciples and exhorted them, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia. 2 And when he had gone through those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. 3 And when he had spent three months, a plot was laid against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, and he determined to return through Macedonia. 4 And there accompanied him as far as Asia, Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas. 6 And we sailed away from Philippi at the Days of Unleavened Bread, and came to those of Troas in five days; and we stayed there seven days.

 

7 And upon the first day of the week, when we had gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the next day; and prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered together. 9 And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul spoke yet longer, being slumped down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. 10 And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Make no tumult; for his life is in him. 11 And when he had gone up, and had broken the bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even till the break of day, he departed. 12 And they brought the lad alive, and were not a little comforted.

 

13 But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so he had appointed, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there, we came the following day over against Chios; and the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

 

17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the assembly. 18 And when they were come to him, he said to them,

You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, 19 serving Yahweh with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews; 20 how I shrank not from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and privately in homes, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward Yahweh, and faith toward our Sovereign Yahshua the Messiah. 22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23 save that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. 24 But I hold not my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Sovereign Yahshua, to testify the good tidings of the grace of Yahweh. 25 And now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching the Kingdom, shall see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 27 For I shrank not from declaring to you the whole counsel of Yahweh. 28 Take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the assembly of the Master, which he purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears. 32 And now I commend you to Yahweh, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified. 33 I coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to them that were with me. 35 In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Master Yahshua, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

 

36 And when he had spoken this, he kneeled down and prayed with them all. 37 And they all wept with great emotion, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, 38 sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should not see his face any more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

 

 

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