Acts 17:18-20

Amplified Bible

¹⁸And some of the ^[a]Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to engage in conversation with him. And some said, “What could this idle babbler [with his eclectic, scrap-heap learning] have in mind to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities”—because he was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹They took him and brought him to the ^[b]Areopagus (Hill of Ares, the Greek god of war), saying, “May we know what this [strange] new teaching is which you are proclaiming? ²⁰For you are bringing some startling and strange things to our ears; so we want to know what they mean.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Acts 17:18 These were among the leading philosophies of the day. Neither believed in a personal God; indeed, the Epicureans were confirmed atheists. Their goal was to get as much out of life as possible. The Stoics had a strong, fatalistic sense of duty, seeking to improve the inner man.
Acts 17:19 Also known as Mars Hill, named for Mars, the Roman god of war. It was the place where the ancient Greek Areopagus Council convened and had varying powers in the course of its history. In Roman times it was where the supreme government of Athens met.