Acts:17-18
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Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia ,
they came to Thessalonica ,
where was a synagogue of the Jews :
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And Paul ,
as his manner was ,
went in unto them ,
and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures ,
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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 .
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And 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 .
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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 .
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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 ;
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Whom Jason hath received :
and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar ,
saying that there is another king ,
one Jesus .
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And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city ,
when they heard these things .
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And when they had taken security of Jason ,
and of the other ,
they let them go .
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And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea :
who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews .
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These 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 .
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Therefore many of them believed ;
also of honourable women which were Greeks ,
and of men ,
not a few .
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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 .
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And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea :
but Silas and Timotheus abode there still .
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And 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 .
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Now while Paul waited for them at Athens ,
his spirit was stirred in him ,
when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry .
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Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews ,
and with the devout persons ,
and in the market daily with them that met with him .
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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 .
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And they took him ,
and brought him unto Areopagus ,
saying ,
May we know what this new doctrine ,
whereof thou speakest ,
is ?
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For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears :
we would know therefore what these things mean .
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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 .)
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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 .
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For 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 .
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God that made the world and all things therein ,
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth ,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands ;
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Neither is worshipped with men '
s hands ,
as though he needed any thing ,
seeing he giveth to all life ,
and breath ,
and all things ;
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And 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 ;
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That 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 :
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For 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 .
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Forasmuch 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 .
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And the times of this ignorance God winked at ;
but now commandeth all men every where to repent :
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Because 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 .
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And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead ,
some mocked :
and others said ,
We will hear thee again of this matter .
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So Paul departed from among them .
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Howbeit certain men clave unto him ,
and believed :
among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite ,
and a woman named Damaris ,
and others with them .
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After these things Paul departed from Athens ,
and came to Corinth ;
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And found a certain Jew named Aquila ,
born in Pontus ,
lately come from Italy ,
with his wife Priscilla ; (
because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome :)
and came unto them .
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And because he was of the same craft ,
he abode with them ,
and wrought :
for by their occupation they were tentmakers .
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And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath ,
and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks .
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And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia ,
Paul was pressed in the spirit ,
and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ .
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And when they opposed themselves ,
and blasphemed ,
he shook his raiment ,
and said unto them ,
Your blood be upon your own heads ;
I am clean :
from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles .
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And he departed thence ,
and entered into a certain man '
s house ,
named Justus ,
one that worshipped God ,
whose house joined hard to the synagogue .
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And Crispus ,
the chief ruler of the synagogue ,
believed on the Lord with all his house ;
and many of the Corinthians hearing believed ,
and were baptized .
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Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision ,
Be not afraid ,
but speak ,
and hold not thy peace :
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For I am with thee ,
and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee :
for I have much people in this city .
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And he continued there a year and six months ,
teaching the word of God among them .
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And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia ,
the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul ,
and brought him to the judgment seat ,
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Saying ,
This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law .
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And when Paul was now about to open his mouth ,
Gallio said unto the Jews ,
If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness ,
O ye Jews ,
reason would that I should bear with you :
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But if it be a question of words and names ,
and of your law ,
look ye to it ;
for I will be no judge of such matters .
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And he drave them from the judgment seat .
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Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes ,
the chief ruler of the synagogue ,
and beat him before the judgment seat .
And Gallio cared for none of those things .
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And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while ,
and then took his leave of the brethren ,
and sailed thence into Syria ,
and with him Priscilla and Aquila ;
having shorn his head in Cenchrea :
for he had a vow .
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And he came to Ephesus ,
and left them there :
but he himself entered into the synagogue ,
and reasoned with the Jews .
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When they desired him to tarry longer time with them ,
he consented not ;
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But bade them farewell ,
saying ,
I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem :
but I will return again unto you ,
if God will .
And he sailed from Ephesus .
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And when he had landed at Caesarea ,
and gone up ,
and saluted the church ,
he went down to Antioch .
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And after he had spent some time there ,
he departed ,
and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order ,
strengthening all the disciples .
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And a certain Jew named Apollos ,
born at Alexandria ,
an eloquent man ,
and mighty in the scriptures ,
came to Ephesus .
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This man was instructed in the way of the Lord ;
and being fervent in the spirit ,
he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord ,
knowing only the baptism of John .
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And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue :
whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard ,
they took him unto them ,
and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly .
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And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia ,
the brethren wrote ,
exhorting the disciples to receive him :
who ,
when he was come ,
helped them much which had believed through grace :
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For he mightily convinced the Jews ,
and that publickly ,
shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ .
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And it came to pass ,
that ,
while Apollos was at Corinth ,
Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus :
and finding certain disciples ,