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18 There were some teachers there who liked to talk about the things that people should believe. Some of them were called Epicureans and some were called Stoics.[a] After they talked to Paul, some of them said to each other, ‘Who is this silly man? He knows nothing and he talks too much!’ But some of these teachers said, ‘We think that he is talking about strange gods.’ They said this because Paul was telling people the good news about Jesus. He was also talking about the time when God will cause dead people to live again.

19 So these men asked Paul to go with them to Areopagus hill. They wanted him to speak to the city's important officers who met there.[b] 20 The officers said, ‘These strange ideas that you are teaching surprise us. Please explain to us what these ideas mean.’

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Footnotes

  1. 17:18 The Epicureans were disciples of Epicurus. He taught that there were no gods. Or that the gods were not near to the people. The Stoics were disciples of Zeno. Zeno taught that everyone should be good to themselves. They should also do the right things for other people. He taught that God was the soul of the world.
  2. 17:19 These important men were the rulers of Athens and they met together on the Areopagus hill. They decided what should happen in the city.