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ACTS 17
page 998
prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there
was a massive earthquake, and the prison was
shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every
prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the
prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill
himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t
kill yourself! We are all here!”
— promises —
from God
“Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you will be saved.”
AC T S 16:31
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the
dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul
and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and
asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you will be saved, along with everyone in
your household.” 32 And they shared the word of
the Lord with him and with all who lived in his
household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the
jailer cared for them and washed their wounds.
Then he and everyone in his household were
immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into
his house and set a meal before them, and he
and his entire household rejoiced because they
all believed in God.
35 The next morning the city officials sent the
police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” 36 So
the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said
you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly
beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—
and we are Roman citizens. So now they want
us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them
come themselves to release us!”
38 When the police reported this, the city
officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and
Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came
to the jail and apologized to them. Then they
brought them out and begged them to leave the
city. 40 When Paul and Silas left the prison, they
returned to the home of Lydia. There they met
with the believers and encouraged them once
more. Then they left town.
Paul Preaches in Thessalonica
Paul and Silas then traveled through the
towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and
came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish
synagogue. 2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to
the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths
in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with
the people. 3 He explained the prophecies and
17
proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise
from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling
you about is the Messiah.” 4 Some of the Jews
who listened were persuaded and joined Paul
and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek
men and quite a few prominent women.*
5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they
gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul
and Silas so they could drag them out to the
crowd.* 6 Not finding them there, they dragged
out Jason and some of the other believers* instead and took them before the city council.
“Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the
world,” they shouted, “and now they are here
disturbing our city, too. 7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty
of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”
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.
Paul and Silas in Berea
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 Thes sa lo ni ca
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.
Paul Preaches in Athens
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 Godfearing 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
17:4 Some manuscripts read quite a few of the wives of the
leading men. 17:5 Or the city council. 17:6 Greek brothers;
also in 17:10, 14.