Trouble in Thessalonica
1 After Paul and his friends had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they went on to Thessalonica. A synagogue was in that city. 2 So as usual, Paul went there to worship, and on three Sabbaths he spoke to the people. He used the Scriptures 3 to show them that the Messiah had to suffer, but that he would rise from death. Paul also told them that Jesus is the Messiah he was preaching about. 4 Some of them believed what Paul had said, and they became followers with Paul and Silas. Some Gentiles and many important women also believed the message.
5 The Jewish leaders were jealous and got some troublemakers who hung around the marketplace to start a riot in the city. They wanted to drag Paul and Silas out to the mob, and so they went straight to Jason's home. 6 But when they did not find them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the Lord's followers. They took them to the city authorities and shouted, “Paul and Silas have been upsetting things everywhere. Now they have come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his home. All of them break the laws of the Roman Emperor by claiming that someone named Jesus is king.”
8 The officials and the people were upset when they heard this. 9 So they made Jason and the other followers pay bail before letting them go.
People in Berea Welcome the Message
10 That same night the Lord's followers sent Paul and Silas on to Berea, and after they arrived, they went to the synagogue. 11 The people in Berea were much nicer than those in Thessalonica, and they gladly accepted the message. Day after day they studied the Scriptures to see if these things were true. 12 Many of them put their faith in the Lord, including some important Greek women and several men.
13 When the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica heard that Paul had been preaching God's message in Berea, they went there and caused trouble by turning the crowds against Paul.
14 At once the followers sent Paul down to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15 Some men went with Paul as far as Athens, and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Paul in Athens
16 While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was upset to see all the idols in the city. 17 He 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. 18 Some of them were Epicureans and some were Stoics, 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.”
19 They brought Paul before a council called the Areopagus, and said, “Tell us what your new teaching is all about. 20 We have heard you say some strange things, and we want to know what you mean.”
21 More than anything else the people of Athens and the foreigners living there loved to hear and to talk about anything new. 22 So Paul stood up in front of the council and said:
People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. 23 As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, “To an Unknown God.” You worship this God, but you don't really know him. So I want to tell you about him. 24 This God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and he doesn't live in temples built by human hands. 25 He doesn't need help from anyone. He gives life, breath, and everything else to all people. 26 From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be.
27 God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, 28 and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. “We are his children,” just as some of your poets have said.
29 Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made. 30 In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. 31 He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death.
32 As soon as the people heard Paul say a man had been raised from death, some of them started laughing. Others said, “We will hear you talk about this some other time.” 33 When Paul left the council meeting, 34 some of the men put their faith in the Lord and went with Paul. One of them was a council member named Dionysius. A woman named Damaris and several others also put their faith in the Lord.
Mu Tesalonika
1 Paulo na Silasi bakayenda bakapinda ne mu Amfipoli ne Apoloniya bakaswika ku Tesalonika, iko kwakabe kuna ng'umba ye mitembezelo ye Bajuta. 2 Se wolobela kukwe Paulo kayenda ku ng'umba ye mitembezelo. Kagala tshipi thatu enyanyayidzana nabo ngekwe hwalo, ebala 3 etjenesa Hwalo dze Ndzimu elakidza mudzili kuti Mesiya wakabe akafanila kudziyila ne kumuka mu bafi. Paulo kati, “Jesu iwoyu wandinoleba nge kukwe kumuli ndiye Mesiya.” 4 Bamwe babo bakahwisisa, ndizo bakama na Paulo na Silasi; ne bafumakadzi bana mamo banjinji ne Bagiriki banjinji bakabe benamata Ndzimu.
5 Koga Bajuta bakabe ne ndandala, ngono bakakubunganya bamwe bathu basibe tjimwe mu dzizila bakabumba mbunga. Bakadzonga nzi wose, ngono bakangina mu nzi we nlume wakabe edang'wa Jasoni, beti banowowana Paulo na Silasi kuti babazhise ku bathu. 6 Koga bakati babasheta, bakazuzuta Jasoni ne zwimwe zwikamu bakabayisa mbeli kwe babusi be nzi bemimila beti, “Ibaba balume bakadzonga pamwe ne pamwe! Ngwenu batjizhabo ngeno, 7 ngono Jasoni wakabagadza mu ng'umba iye. Bose banotjuluka milayo ya Kaisara, beti kuna mmwe mambo, unoyi Jesu.” 8 Bathu ne balauli be nzi bakadzongeka ha behwa ikoku. 9 Balauli bakalipisa Jasoni na ibabo bamwe, themba ye mari inoshakika kuti basunungugwe, ndizo bakabaletja bakayenda.
Mu Bhereya
10 Kukati kube busiku, zwikamu zwikanyelusila Paulo na Silasi ku Bhereya. Bakati beswika bakayenda ku ng'umba ye mitembezelo ye Tjijuta. 11 Bathu baikoko bakabe bakashaladuka kupinda Batesalonika. Bakaamutjila dama nge mazwihwo abo wose, ngono mazhuba wose bakabe belingisisa mu Hwalo dze Ndzimu kubona kene tjadiyiwa ndi Paulo tjili malebeswa. 12 Bunji mubali bakagalamoyo; ne bakadzi be Tjigiriki banjinji bana mamo ne balume banjinji be Tjigiriki na ibo bakagalamoyo. 13 Koga Bajuta mu Tesalonika bakati behwa kuti Paulo wakasumikilabo dama le Ndzimu mu Bhereya, bakazha ikoko bakatangisa kudzonga bathu. 14 Tjinyolotjo zwikamu zwikadusa Paulo kayenda ku gungwa; koga Silasi na Timoti bakasala mu Bhereya. 15 Balume bakabe bepelekedza Paulo bakayenda naye kunoti mu Atene ipapo bakashandukila ku Bhereya ne ndayilo inodwa muna Paulo kuti Silasi na Timoti bantobele tjinyolotjo.
Mu Atene
16 Paulo kati atjakamilila Silasi na Timoti mu Atene meya iye ikakodzongeka mukati kukwe ha ebona nzi sekwa uli zhele midzimu. 17 Ndizo kalebesana ne Bajuta ne Bezwitjaba banonamata Ndzimu mu ng'umba ye mitembezelo ne mu lubazhe mazhuba wose elebeleka ne bathu banopinda zwabo. 18 Badiyi bamwe be zwidiyo zwe Tjiepikuri ne be zwidiyo zwe Tjisitoiki bakanyanyayidzana naye. Bamwe babo bakabhuzwa beti, “Nlebanyi iwoyu katini?”
Bamwe bakadabila beti, “Unonga unoleba ngekwe midzimu ipoga.” Bakaleba ikoku, ngobe Paulo wakabe esumikila ngekwa Jesu nenge kumuka mu bafi. 19 Ndizo bakatola Paulo bakanzhisa pa lubazhe gwe nzi iwoyo gunoyi Areopago, ngono bakati, “Toshaka kuziba kudiya ikoku kutshwa kwaunoleba nge kwako. 20 Zwithu zwatinohwa uzwileba zwitshwa mutili, ngono toshaka kuziba kuti zodwani.” 21 Bathu bose be Atene ne bataya bakabe begala ikoko bakapitsha tjibaka tjabo beleba kene behwilila tjimwe tjitshwa.
22 Paulo kama pakati kwe lubazhe gwe Areopago kati, “Ndobona kuti mu zila dzose imwi Baatene mu banamati. 23 Ngobe ndati ndipalama nzi wenyu ndilinga magalo amunonamata, ndawana tjibeso tjakakwagwa kuyi, ‘Ku Ndzimu usingazibgwe.’ Itjetjo tjamunonamata, nenguba musingatjizibe, nditjo tjandinoleba kumuli nge kwatjo ngwenu. 24 Ndzimu iwo wakathama shango ne tjimwe ne tjimwe tjimuili, ndi She we kudzimu ne shango, ngono autogala mu ng'umba dze mitembezelo dzakathamwa nge nthu, 25 kene kuli kushaka tjimwe tjatingaunamata nge kuushingila, se uli iwo unopa butjilo ne meya inofemiwa ne tjimwe ne tjimwe ku mmwe ne mmwe. 26 Wakathama zwitjaba zose kudwa mu nthu nng'ompela kuti bagale mu shango yose. Iwo nge kwawo wakabiga kale misi ne migathu ye magalo kwabanowogala. 27 Wakathama ikoku kuti ndizo baushake, kuti pamwe bangaambamba bakauwana. Nenguba Ndzimu usi kule kule ne mmwe ne mmwe wedu ngoti; 28 ‘Muuli totjila tikayenda tikabepo.’
“Koga sekwa kalebgwa nge batetembeli bamwe benyu beti, ‘Nge malebeswa ti bana bawo.’
29 “Se tili bana be Ndzimu, tisikumbule kuti mbumbiko yawo inonga ye tjifano tjakathamwa nge golide kene siliva kene bgwe, tjithamwa nge bunyambi ne njalakang'wa dze nthu. 30 Misi ye kusaziba Ndzimu wakailinga ukaitjuludza mesho, koga ngwenu unolaya bose kumwe ne kumwe kuti bashandukile matjinyo abo. 31 Ngobe wakabiga zhuba launowosumikilisa shango yose nge ndulamo nge nlume wawakashalula. Wakalakidza malebeswa a ikoku ku mmwe ne mmwe nge kumusa nlume iwoyo mu bafi!”
32 Bakati behwa Paulo eleba ngekwe kumusiwa kwe bafi, bamwe babo bakanseka mahanya, koga bamwe bakati, “Toshaka kukuhwa ulebeleka ngekwa ikoku kakale.” 33 Ndizo Paulo kadwa mubali. 34 Koga bamwe balume bakabhatana naye, ngono bakagalamoyo, pakati kwabo kwakabe kuna Diyonisiyo we N'areopago; ne mmwe nkadzi edang'wa Damarisi ne bamwe.