Acts 17:16-18

Contemporary English Version

Paul in Athens

¹⁶While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was upset to see all the idols in the city. ¹⁷He went to the synagogue to speak to the Jews and to anyone who worshiped with them. Day after day he also spoke to everyone he met in the market. ¹⁸Some of them were Epicureans^[a] and some were Stoics,^[b] and they started arguing with him.

People were asking, “What is this know-it-all trying to say?”

Some even said, “Paul must be preaching about foreign gods! That's what he means when he talks about Jesus and about people rising from death.”^[c]

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Footnotes

17.18 Epicureans: People who followed the teaching of a man named Epicurus, who taught that happiness should be the main goal in life.
17.18 Stoics: Followers of a man named Zeno, who taught that people should learn self-control and be guided by their consciences.
17.18 people rising from death: Or “a goddess named ‘Rising from Death.’ ”