NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Paul Engages Minds and Builds Churches — October 21
Acts 17-18
Acts 17
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 365N 294.1
2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 365N 294.2
3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” 365N 294.3
4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. 365N 294.4
5 But the Jews [a] who were not persuaded, [b] becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 365N 294.5
6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. 365N 294.6
7 Jason has [c] harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.” 365N 294.7
8 And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. 365N 294.8
9 So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 365N 294.9
10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 365N 294.10
11 These were more [d] fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. 365N 294.11
12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. 365N 294.12
13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. 365N 294.13
14 Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there. 365N 294.14
15 So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed. 365N 294.15
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was [e] given over to idols. 365N 294.16
17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 365N 294.17
18 [f] Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this [g] babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. 365N 294.18
19 And they took him and brought him to the [h] Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 365N 294.19
20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 365N 294.20
21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. 365N 294.21
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the [i] Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 365N 294.22
23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 365N 294.23
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 365N 294.24
25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 365N 294.25
26 And He has made from one [j] blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 365N 294.26
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 365N 294.27
28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 365N 294.28
29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 365N 294.29
30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 365N 294.30
31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” 365N 294.31
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter. ” 365N 294.32
33 So Paul departed from among them. 365N 294.33
34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. 365N 294.34
Acts 18
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 365N 294.35
2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. 365N 294.36
3 So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. 365N 294.37
4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. 365N 294.38
5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled [a] by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 365N 294.39
6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 365N 294.40
7 And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named [b] Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 365N 294.41
8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. 365N 294.42
9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 365N 294.43
10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” 365N 294.44
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 365N 294.45
12 When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the [c] judgment seat, 365N 294.46
13 saying, “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” 365N 294.47
14 And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. 365N 294.48
15 But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters. ” 365N 294.49
16 And he drove them from the judgment seat. 365N 294.50
17 Then [d] all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things. 365N 294.51
18 So Paul still remained [e] a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. 365N 294.52
19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 365N 294.53
20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 365N 294.54
21 but took leave of them, saying, “I [f] must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus. 365N 294.55
22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, and [g] gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. 365N 294.56
23 After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia [h] in order, strengthening all the disciples. 365N 294.57
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 365N 294.58
25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 365N 294.59
26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 365N 294.60
27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 365N 294.61
28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. 365N 294.62