Daniel P. Barron

1 And traveling through the Amphipolis ⁱ and Apollonia, ⁱⁱ they came into Thessalonica, ⁱⁱⁱ where there was the synagogue of the Jews. 2 And according to the custom to the Paul, he went in to them, and on three Sabbaths, he reasoned with them from the writings, 3 explaining and setting forth that “the Christ had to suffer and to rise from dead, and that this one is the Christ, Joshua, whom I am proclaiming to you.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined the Paul and the Silas, and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women.

5 And the disobedient Jews, taking some evil men from the marketplace, and forming a mob, were troubling the city. And coming upon the house of Jason, ^iv they sought to bring them unto the populace. 6 And not finding them, they dragged the Jason and some brethren unto the city officials, crying out, that “These who have stirred up the inhabited world ^v have arrived here too! 7 Jason has welcomed them, and these all are acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying another to be king, Joshua.” 8 And they troubled the crowd and the city officials hearing these things. 9 And receiving the pledge ^vi from the Jason and the rest, they released them. 10 And immediately during the night, the brethren sent the Paul and the Silas out to Berea: ^vii who having arrived, were going into the synagogue of the Jews.

11 And these were more noble ^viii than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all readiness, daily examining the writings, ^ix if they have ^x these things so. 12 Therefore, many of them believed, and of the Greeks not a few prominent women and men. 13 And when the Jews from the Thessalonica knew that also in the Berea the word of the God was proclaimed by the Paul, they came there shaking ^xi the crowds. 14 And then immediately, the brethren sent out the Paul toward the sea, and both the Silas and the Timothy remained there. 15 And those escorting the Paul led him unto Athens. ^xii And receiving a command to the Silas and Timothy, that, as soon as possible to come to him, they departed.

16 And while the Paul was waiting for them in the Athens, his spirit was being provoked in him, seeing the city is given over to idolatry. ^xiii 17 Therefore, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and with the worshipers, and in the marketplace every day to those who happen to be there. 18 And also some of the Epicurean ^xiv and the Stoic ^xv philosophers ^xvi were conversing ^xvii with him. And some were saying, “What does this seed picker ^xviii wish to say?” And some, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange ^xix demons.” ^xx Because, he was preaching the good news of the Joshua and the resurrection. 19 And taking hold of him, they led over to the Areopagus ^xxi saying, “Can we know what this new doctrine spoken by you is? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. We wish, then, to know what these things might be?” ^xxii 21 Now, all the Athenians ^xxiii and the visiting strangers were spending time doing nothing other than to tell or to hear something new.

22 And the Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said, “Men, Athenians, I perceive you according to all things as most religious. ^xxiv 23 For passing through and observing your objects of worship I even found an altar on which had been written, ^xxv 'To God Unknown.' ^xxvi Therefore, whom you ignorantly worship, this one I proclaim to you.” 24 The God who made the world and all the things in it, this one being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands. 25 Neither is he cared for ^xxvii by human hands, needing something, himself giving to all life and breath ^xxviii throughout all. 26 And he made from one blood ^xxix every nation of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, determining preappointed times, the boundaries of their habitations, 27 to seek the Lord, if perhaps they might even grope for and find him, and yet existing not far from each one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and are. As also some of the poets ^xxx among you ^xxxi have said, “For we are also his offspring.” ^xxxii 29 Being then the offspring of the God, we ought not to suppose the divine one ^xxxiii to be like gold or silver or stone, an image ^xxxiv of man's craft ^xxxv and thought. ^xxxvi 30 Indeed then, having overlooked these times of the ignorance, the God now commands all men everywhere to repent. 31 Because, he has fixed a day in which he is going ^xxxvii to judge the inhabited world in righteousness by a man whom he determined, providing faith ^xxxviii to all, raising him from the dead.

32 And hearing resurrection from the dead, indeed, some mocked, and some said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 And so, the Paul went out from their midst. 34 And some men joining him believed, among them were also Dionysius ^xxxix the Areopagite, ^xl and a woman named Damaris, ^xli and others with them.

Acts 16 - Acts 18

Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdfs here and here.

1. Ἀμφίπολιν (Amphipolin) “Amphipolis” - only here. ^
2. Ἀπολλωνίαν (Apollônian) “Apollonia” only here. ^
3. Θεσσαλονίκην (Thessalonikên) “Thessalonica” - found also in Acts 17:11, 13; Philippians 4:16; 2 Timothy 4:10. ^
4. Ἰάσονος (Iasonos) “Jason” - found also in Acts 17:5-7, 9; Romans 16:21. ^
5. οἰκουμένην (oikoumenên) “inhabited world” - see footnote for Luke 2:1. ^
6. ἱκανὸν (hikanon) “pledge” NAS; “security” NKJV, KJV, YLT; “bond” DLNT; “bail” MOUNCE, TLB, NET; “sufficient assurance” GNV – general term meaning “much” (e.g. Matthew 28:12) or “enough” (Luke 22:38) or “sufficient” (2 Corinthians 2:6), used here for some kind of pledge or security. ^
7. Βέροιαν (Beroian) “Berea” - found also in Acts 17:13. Acts 20:4 has “Berean” Βεροιαῖος (Beroiaios). ^
8. εὐγενέστεροι (eugenesteroi) “more noble” - comparative adjective (thus “more”), found twice elsewhere only not in comparative form, Luke 19:12 (“noble”) & 1 Corinthians 1:26 (“noble”). ^
9. γραφάς (graphas) “writings” - YLT “Writings”; WE “holy writings”; NLV “Holy Writings”; NKJV, etc. “Scriptures” - see footnote for Matthew 21:42. ^
10. εἰ ἔχοι (ei echoi) “if they have” = a more literal translation – Green “if . . . are”; NKJV, KJV, NAS “whether . . . were” - verb is in the present tense, same root word as e.g. Acts 16:16 “having” (TT, “possessed” NKJV). ^
11. σαλεύοντες (saleuontes) “shaking” - Green “shaking up”; YLT “agitating”; NKJV, KJV “stirred up” - every other time this word is found in the NT, NKJV translates it “shaken,” Matthew 11:7; 24:29; Mark 13:25; Luke 6:38, 48 (“shake”); 7:24; 21:26; Acts 2:25; 4:31; 16:26; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; Hebrews 12:26 (“shook”; σείω “I shake”)-27. ^
12. Ἀθηνῶν (Athênôn) “Athens” - found also in Acts 17:16; 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:1. ^
13. κατείδωλον (kateidôlon) “given over to idolatry” - WYC “given to idolatry”; KJV “wholly given to idolatry”; NKJV “given over to idols”; NAS “full of idols” - singular noun - only here, more literally perhaps, “down with idolatry” (κατὰ “down” + εἴδωλον “idol”). ^
14. Ἐπικουρείων (Epikoureiôn) “Epicurean” = followers of Epicurus – only found here. ^
15. Στοϊκῶν (Stoikôn) “Stoic” - Greek word etymologically with meaning related to the English word “stoic.” MW on stoic “1. “capitalized : a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law. 2 : one apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain” ^
16. φιλοσόφων (philosophôn) “philosophers” - compound word meaning “lover or friend of wisdom” - φίλος (philos) = “friend” or “lover” e.g. James 4:4; σοφία (sophia) = “wisdom” e.g. James 3:15. Here's a good example of the basic idea of the word is the polar opposite of its meaning in practice (Proverbs 1:7; 14:6; 17:16; 1 Corinthians 1:20-23; 3:19-20; “earthly, sensual, demonic” wisdom James 3:15). ^
17. συνέβαλλον (suneballon) “were conversing” NAS; DLNT, LEB, NET, TLV, WEB; “encountered” NKJV, KJV – imperfect (continual past action) – for use of this verb see also Luke 2:19 (“pondered”); 14:31 (“to make war with”; TT “to meet”); Acts 4:15 (“conferred”); 18:27 (“helped”); 20:14 (“met”). ^
18. σπερμολόγος (spermologos) “seed picker” YLT, EHV; “word sower” DRA; “sower of words” WYC; “word-scatterer” NTE; “babbler” NKJV, KJV, ESV, etc.; “idle babbler” NAS; “babbler [or charlatan; or ignorant show-off;  wordscatterer]” EXB; “junk scavenger” MIT; “(a figurative expression, literally 'one who picks up seed,' originally a reference to birds picking up seed, but figuratively applied to a person who is an information scavenger) one who is not able to say anything worthwhile in view of his miscellaneous collection of tidbits of information - 'foolish babbler.'” Louw-Nida Lexicon. Compound word combining the words “seed” σπέρμα (sperma) and “word” λόγος (logos). ^
19. Ξένων (Xevôn) “strange” YLT, NAS, KJV, DLNT, etc.; “foreign” NKJV, Green, etc. - can be either. ^
20. δαιμονίων (daimoniôn) “demons” YLT; Green; DARBY; “gods” NKJV, KJV, CEB, etc.; “deities” NAS, CSB, DLNT, etc..This is the word for “demons” in the NT. See, e.g. Matthew 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; 1 Corinthians 10:20-21; 1 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 16:14. ^
21. Ἄρειον πάγον (Areion pagon) “Areopagus” NKJV, KJV, NAS, YLT, DLNT, Green, etc.; “Areopagus [or the Hill of Ares; or Mars Hill; Ares (Greek name) or Mars (Roman name)” EXB; “Mars' Hill” RGT, NLV – two words here, second, πάγος (pagos) = “frost” in LXX Exodus 16:14; Job 37:10 (see KJV). “Ares” is a reference to the god of war. These two words are also found in Acts 17:22. ^
22. τί ἂν θέλοι ταῦτα εἶναι (ti an theloi tauta eivai) “what these things might be” - same exact phrase in Acts 2:12, except there in the singular (“this”), here plural (“these things”). ^
23. Ἀθηναῖοι (Athênaioi) “Athenians” - found also in Acts 17:22. ^
24. δεισιδαιμονεστέρους (deisidaimonesterous) “very religious” NKJV, NAS, etc; “too superstitious” KJV, BRG, etc; “over-religious” YLT; “fearful of gods” Green, RGT; “most religious or very reverent to demons” AMPC; “given up to demon worship” DARBY - this word is in the comparative form. Related word found in Acts 25:19 δεισιδαιμονίας (deisidaimonias) “religion” NKJV, NAS; “superstition” KJV. ^
25. ἐν ᾧ ἐπεγέγραπτο (en hô epegegrapto) “on which had been written” Green; “on which had been inscribed” YLT, EHV; “with this inscription” NKJV, KJV, NAS. Preposition (ἐν), relative pronoun (ᾧ), pluperfect passive verb (ἐπεγέγραπτο). ^
26. Αγνώστῳ θεῷ (Agnôstô theô) “To God Unknown” - “To God – unknown” YLT; “To an Unknown God” ASV, CSB, CEB, etc; “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD” NKJV, KJV. No definite article in the Greek.  ^
27. θεραπεύεται (therapeuetai) “cared for” - YLT, Green, NAS, CSB, etc. “served”; NKJV, KJV, etc. “worshiped”; CEV, ERV, etc. “help” - elsewhere this word is used for healing, e.g. Acts 5:16; 8:7; 28:9 (“healed”).  ^
28. πνοὴν (pnoên) “breath” - found also only in Acts 2:2 (“wind”). LXX mostly for breath (ה מה נששה e.g. Genesis 2:7; 7:22; Proverbs 20:27[YLT]; Isaiah 42:5) and rarely for spirit ( eחַרוe.g. Proverbs 11:13; Isaiah 38:16) and wind ( eחַרוEzekiel 13:13). ^
29. ἑνὸς αἵματος (henos haimatos) “one blood” - This one blood = Adam (Genesis 2:7 “man” = ם דה אה א הה] hâ'âdâm] “the Adam”). The woman was “built” (TT) from Adam (Genesis 2:22). Even the children born to the sons of God in Genesis 6 were from Adam via the women. Even Christ was from Adam via Mary. This verse is a good one against the false gap theory of Genesis 1:1-2, which claims there was a human race before the creation of Adam. See also 1 Corinthians 15:45 (vs 22). ^
30. ποιητῶν (poiêtôn) “poets” NKJV, KJV, NAS, YLT, Green, etc. - used in other literature as “poet.” In NT always elsewhere “doers” or “doer” (Romans 2:13; James 1:22-23, 25; 4:11). ^
31. τινες τῶν καθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ποιητῶν (tives tôn kath humas poiêtôn) “some of the poets among you” Green ^
32. γένος (genos) “offspring” - found also in Matthew 13:47 (“kind”); 17:21 (“kind”); Mark 7:26 (“birth”); 9:29 (“kind”); Acts 4:6 (“family”), 36 (“country” NKJV, “birth” NAS); 7:13 (“family”), 19 (“people”); 13:26 (“family”); 17:29 (“offspring”); 18:2 (“born”), 24 (“born”); 1 Corinthians 12:10 (“kinds”), 28 (“varieties”); 14:10 (“kinds”); 2 Corinthians 11:26 (“countrymen”); Galations 1:14 (“nation”); Philippians 3:5 (“stock”); 1 Peter 2:9 (“generation”); Revelation 22:16 (“offspring”). See also Acts 13:26 and footnote for “race” (TT). ^
33. θεῖον (theion) “divine one” (adjective); “divinity” DRA, NABRE, NTE; “Divine Nature” NKJV, NAS, etc.; “Godhead” KJV, YLT, Green. Found also in 2 Peter 1:3 (“divine” power [δυνάμεως])-4 (“divine” nature [φύσεως]). ^
34. χαράγματι (charagmati) “an image” - “an image formed” NAS, EHV, etc.; “something shaped” NKJV – elsewhere for the “mark” of the beast (Revelation 13:16-17; 14:9-11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). ^
35. τέχνης (technês) “craft” DLNT, NMB, WYC; “art” NKJV, KJV, NAS, YLT, Green – found also in Acts 18:3 (“occupation”); Revelation 18:22 (“craft”). ^
36. Ἐνθυμήσεως (enthumêsôs) “thought” NAS, DLNT, CEB, LEB, OJB, WYC; “imagination” CSB, CJB, DARBY, ESV, etc.; “devising” NKJV; “device” KJV – found also in Matthew 9:4; 12:25; Hebrews 4:12 all “thoughts” NKJV.  ^
37. μέλλει (mellei) “going” CSB, Green; “will” NKJV, KJV, NAS “about” YLT, OJB ^
38. πίστιν (pistin) “faith” NMB, WYC, DRA; “assurance” NKJV, KJV; “proof” NAS – in other words, He has given
    reason to believe, thus NAS “proof.” ^
39. Διονύσιος (Dionusios) “Dionysius” - only here ^
40. Ἀρεοπαγίτης (Areopagitês) “Areopagite” - only here ^
41. Δάμαρις (Damaris) “Damaris” - only here ^