Veritable King James Version
1Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
2And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
3explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
4And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
5But the Jews, becoming jealous, took some wicked individuals from the marketplace, formed a mob, and set the city in an uproar. They attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
6And when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These people who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
7and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
8And they stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.
9And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the others, they let them go.
10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
11Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
12Many of them therefore believed, along with not a few Greek women of high standing and men.
13But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.
14Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off to go as far as the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.
15Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.
17So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
18Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities,” because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”
21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing else but telling or hearing something new.
22So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “People of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”
24“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by hands,
25nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and everything.”
26“And He made from one every nation of people to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is not far from each one of us,”
28“for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed His offspring.’
29Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and imagination.”
30“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent,
31because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Person whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”
32Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
33So Paul went out from their midst.
34But some people joined him and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
Translation notes
The NA28 Greek text uses “αὐτοί” in verse 1, translated as “they” gender-neutrally, referring to Paul, Silas, and Timothy. “Jews” renders “Ἰουδαίων,” specific to the synagogue community. Capitalized “Christ” and “Jesus” follow instructions. “Reasoned with them from the Scriptures” translates “διελέξατο αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν,” echoing the KJV’s emphasis on scriptural argument. “Explaining and proving” renders “διανοίγων καὶ παρατιθέμενος,” preserving the KJV’s persuasive tone, per the NA28.
“Some of them” and “individuals” in verses 4–5 translate “τινὲς” and “ἄνδρας” gender-neutrally, as the groups are unspecified. “Devout Greeks” and “leading women” render “Ἑλλήνων σεβομένων” and “γυναικῶν τῶν πρώτων,” retaining gender-specific terms where explicit in the NA28. “Mob” translates “ὄχλον,” gender-neutral, per the KJV’s chaotic imagery. “Set the city in an uproar” renders “ἐθορύβουν τὴν πόλιν,” preserving the KJV’s dramatic tone.
“Brothers” and “people” translate “ἀδελφοί” and “οὗτοι” gender-neutrally, referring to believers and Paul’s group. Capitalized “Jesus” follows instructions. “Turned the world upside down” renders “ἀναστατώσαντες τὴν οἰκουμένην,” echoing the KJV’s vivid accusation. “City authorities” translates “πολιτάρχας,” a term specific to Thessalonica, per the NA28, modernizing the KJV’s “rulers of the city.”
“Crowd” and “brothers” translate “ὄχλον” and “ἀδελφοί” gender-neutrally. “City authorities” renders “πολιτάρχας,” consistent with verse 6. “Money as security” translates “λαβόντες τὸ ἱκανὸν,” modernizing the KJV’s “taken security.” “Jewish synagogue” renders “συναγωγὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων,” per the NA28, echoing the KJV’s setting. No divine pronouns appear in this section.
“Jews” and “many of them” translate “Ἰουδαῖοι” and “πολλοὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν” gender-neutrally, referring to the synagogue community. “Greek women of high standing and men” renders “γυναικῶν τῶν Ἑλληνίδων εὐσχημόνων καὶ ἀνδρῶν,” retaining gender-specific terms where explicit in the NA28. “More noble” translates “εὐγενέστεροι,” echoing the KJV’s commendation. “Examining the Scriptures” renders “ἀνακρίνοντες τὰς γραφὰς,” preserving the KJV’s emphasis on study.
“Crowds” and “brothers” translate “ὄχλους” and “ἀδελφοί” gender-neutrally. Capitalized “God” follows instructions. “Word of God” renders “λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ,” echoing the KJV’s evangelistic focus. “Agitating and stirring up” translates “σαλεύοντες καὶ ταράσσοντες,” preserving the KJV’s disruptive imagery, per the NA28. No gender-neutral adjustments are needed for named individuals (Paul, Silas, Timothy).
“Those who conducted” translates “οἱ καθιστάνοντες” gender-neutrally, as the escorts are unspecified. “Full of idols” renders “κατείδωλον,” modernizing the KJV’s “wholly given to idolatry.” “His spirit was provoked” translates “παρωξύνετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ,” echoing the KJV’s emotional intensity, per the NA28. No divine pronouns appear in this section.
“Devout persons” translates “σεβομένοις” gender-neutrally, referring to God-fearers. “Those who happened to be there” renders “τοὺς παρατυγχάνοντας,” inclusive of the marketplace crowd. Capitalized “Jesus” follows instructions. “Babbler” translates “σπερμολόγος,” preserving the KJV’s derogatory term in modern English. “Preaching Jesus and the resurrection” renders “εὐαγγελιζόμενος Ἰησοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν,” per the NA28, echoing the KJV’s focus.
“They” and “Athenians and foreigners” translate “αὐτὸν” and “Ἀθηναῖοι καὶ οἱ ξένοι” gender-neutrally, referring to mixed groups. “Areopagus” renders “Ἄρειον Πάγον,” referring to the council or hill, per the NA28. “Strange things” translates “ξενίζοντα,” echoing the KJV’s “strange things.” The parenthetical note in verse 21 reflects the cultural context, preserving the KJV’s tone in modern English.
“People of Athens” translates “ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι” gender-neutrally, addressing the crowd inclusively. “Very religious” renders “δεισιδαιμονεστέρους,” a neutral term in context, echoing the KJV’s “too superstitious” but softened for modern English. “Unknown god” translates “ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ,” lowercase as a pagan concept, per the NA28. The KJV’s rhetorical tone is preserved in Paul’s address.
© Veritable King James Version, 2026. All Rights Reserved.