The. holie. Bible. conteynyng the olde Testament and the newe.

❧The .xvij. Chapter.

1 Paul commeth to Thessalonica, where the Iewes set the citie in an vprore. 15 Paul escapeth to Athens, where he preacheth the vnknowen God.

[unspec A] 1 AS they made their iourney tho∣rowe Amphipo∣lis, and Apollo∣nia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a sy∣nagogue of the Iewes.

2 And Paul, as his maner was, went in vnto them, and three Sabboth dayes disputed with thē out of the scriptures,

3 Openyng and alleagyng, that * 1.1 Christ must needes haue suffred, and rysen a∣gayne from the dead, and that this is Christe Iesus, which I preache to you.

4 And * 1.2 some of them beleued, and ioyned with Paul and Silas, and of the deuout

Grekes a great multitude, and of the chiefe women not a fewe.

5 But the Iewes whiche beleued not, [unspec B] moued with enuie, toke vnto them cer∣taine vagaboundes and euyll men, and gathered a companie, and set all the citie on a rore, and made assault vnto the house of Iason, & sought to bryng them out to the people.

6 And when they founde them not, they drewe Iason and certaine brethren vn∣to the heades of the citie, crying: these that trouble the world, are come hyther also,

7 Whom Iason hath receaued [priuily.] * 1.3And these al do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, (a) 1.4 saying that there is ano∣ther kyng [one] Iesus.

8 And they troubled the people, and the officers of the citie, when they hearde these thynges.

9 And when they were sufficiently aun∣swered of Iason, and of the other, they let them go.

10 And the brethren immediatlye sent a∣way Paul & Silas by nyght, vnto Be∣rea: Which when they were come thy∣ther, they entred into the synagogue of the Iewes.

11 These were the noblest of birth among [unspec C] them of Thessalonica, which receaued the worde with all redynesse of mynde, and searched * 1.5 the scriptures dayly, whe∣ther those thynges were so.

12 Therfore many of them beleued. Also of honest women which were Grekes, and of men not a fewe.

13 But when the Iewes of Thessaloni∣ca had knowledge that y^e worde of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thyther and moued the people.

14 And then immediatly the brethren sent away Paul, to go as it were to the sea: but * 1.6Silas & Timotheus abode there styll.

[unspec D] 15 And they that guyded Paul, brought hym vnto Athens, and receaued a com∣maundement vnto Silas & Timotheus for to come to hym with speede, & went their way.

16 Whyle Paul wayted for them at A∣thens, his spirite was moued in hym, when he sawe the citie geuē to worship∣pyng of idoles.

17 Therfore disputed he in the synagogue with the Iewes, and with the deuout persons, and in the market dayly with them that came vnto hym by chaunce.

18 Then certaine philosophers of the (b) 1.7 Epicures, and of the Stoickes disputed with hym. And some saide: What wyll this babler say? Other some, he seemeth to be a setter foorth of newe gods: be∣cause he preached vnto them Iesus, and the resurrection.

19 And they toke hym, and brought him into Marce streate, saying: Maye we not knowe what this newe doctrine [unspec E] wherof thou speakest is?* 1.8

20 For thou bryngest certaine straunge thinges to our eares: We would knowe therfore what these thynges meane.

21 For all the Athenians and straungers which were there, gaue them selues to nothing els, but either to tell or to heare some newe thyng.

22 Then Paul stoode in the myddes of Marce streate, and sayde: ye men of A∣thens, I perceaue that in all thynges ye are to superstitious.

23 For as I passed by, and behelde the maner howe ye worship your gods, I founde an aulter, wherin was written, [unspec F] vnto the vnknowē god. Whom ye then ignorauntly worship, him shewe I vn∣to you.

24 * 1.9God that made the worlde, & all that are in it, seing that he is Lorde of heauē and earth, * 1.10dwelleth not in temples made with handes:

25 Neither is worshipped with mens handes, as though he needed of any thing, seing he him selfe * 1.11 geueth life and breath to all, euery where.

26 And hath made of one blood all nati∣ons of men, for to dwell on all y^e face of the earth, & hath determined the tymes before appoynted, and also the boundes of their habitation:

27 That they shoulde seke the Lorde, yf perhappes they myght haue felt and founde hym, though he be not farre frō euery one of vs.

28 For in hym we liue, and moue, & haue our beyng, as certaine of your owne po∣etes sayde: for we are also his ofspryng.

29 Forasmuch then as we are the (c) 1.12 of∣spring of God, we ought not to thynke that the Godhead is lyke vnto golde, sil∣uer, or stone, grauen by art, and mans deuice.

30 And the tyme of this ignoraunce God wyncked at: but nowe byddeth all men euery where to repent:

[unspec G] 31 Because he hath appoynted a day in the which he wyll iudge the worlde in ryghteousnesse, by that man by whom he hath appoynted, and hath offered fayth to all men, in that he hath raysed hym from the dead.

32 And when they hearde of the resurrec∣tion from the dead, some mocked, and other sayde, we wyll heare thee agayne of this matter.

33 So Paul departed from among them.

34 Howe be it, certaine men claue vnto hym, and beleued: among the whiche was Denys Areopagita, and a woman named Damaris, & other with them.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Luk. ••4 g.
• * 1.2

  Actes. 28 ••.
• * 1.3

  Iohn. xix. c.
• (a) 1.4

  Like qua¦rell pykynge, they vsed a∣g••inst Christ. And these be the weapons whereby the world conti∣nually fygh∣teth agaynst the members of Christe, treason and sedition.
• * 1.5

  Iohn. v. g.
• * 1.6

  Act. xviii. b.
• (b) 1.7

  The Epi¦cures were a sect of learned men, whiche (beyng with∣out the know¦ledge of God) helde opinion, that ther was no lyfe or ioye after this life, but that all mans felicitie dyd consist in y^e pleasures of this worlde.
• * 1.8

  The Stoikes were an other kynde of lear∣ned men, whi∣che lykewyse wantynge the knowledge of God, affirmed y^t mans whole felicitie & hap∣pinesse did cō∣sist in the qua∣lities and ver∣tues of the mynde.
• * 1.9

  Gene. i. a. Act. xiiii. c. Psal. xlvi. a. Apo. xiiii. b Act. vii. f. Esai. lxvi. a. 4. Re. viii. c.
• * 1.10

  Gene. i. a. Act. xiiii. c. Psal. xlvi. a. Apo. xiiii. b Act. vii. f. Esai. lxvi. a. 4. Re. viii. c.
• * 1.11

  i. Paral. v. c. Genes. i. b.
• (c) 1.12

  The Apo¦stle tearmeth vs the genera¦tion of God, not that we be of y^e substance and nature of God, but be∣cause God hath created vs, and by his sonne Iesus Christe hath redeemed vs, and made vs his chyldren by adoption.