Passage Viewer

Paul was escorted as far as Athens, and then his escort returned to Beroea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

At the Areopagus

Then Paul rose to his feet in the Areopagus hall and said:

Athenian citizens, I observe that you are very religious in every way.

As I walked around examining your shrines, I even saw an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Now, what you worship as unknown, I intend to make known to you.

God, who created the world and everything in it, does not live in man-made temples, since he is Lord of heaven and earth.

Nor does his worship depend on anything built by humans, as if he needed it. Instead, it is he who gives life, breath, and all things to everyone.

From one stock, he created the entire human race to live all over the earth,

and he set the times and boundaries for each nation.

He wanted them to seek him on their own, even if it was just by groping for him, so that they could succeed in finding him. Yet, he is not far from any of us.

For, in him, we live, move, and have our being, as some of your poets have said: for we, too, are his offspring.

If we are truly God’s children, we should not view divinity as something like a gold, silver, or stone statue—merely a creation of human art and imagination.

But now, God chooses to overlook this time of ignorance; and he calls on all people to change their ways.

He has already set a day when he will judge the world with justice through a man he has appointed. And to show everyone it’s true, he has just given a sign by raising this man from the dead.

When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection from the dead, some ridiculed him, while others said:

“We must hear you on this topic at another time.”

At that point, Paul left.

But a few did join him and believe. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus court, a woman named Damaris, and others.

In Corinth

After this, Paul left Athens and traveled to Corinth.