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.
In Thessalonica
1 Paul and Silas traveled on through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue. 2 According to his usual habit Paul went to the synagogue. There during three Sabbaths he held discussions with the people, quoting 3 and explaining the Scriptures, and proving from them that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from death. “This Jesus whom I announce to you,” Paul said, “is the Messiah.” 4 Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas; so did many of the leading women and a large group of Greeks who worshiped God.
5 But some Jews were jealous and gathered worthless loafers from the streets and formed a mob. They set the whole city in an uproar and attacked the home of a man named Jason, in an attempt to find Paul and Silas and bring them out to the people. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city authorities and shouted, “These men have caused trouble everywhere! Now they have come to our city, 7 and Jason has kept them in his house. They are all breaking the laws of the Emperor, saying that there is another king, whose name is Jesus.” 8 With these words they threw the crowd and the city authorities in an uproar. 9 The authorities made Jason and the others pay the required amount of money to be released, and then let them go.
In Berea
10 As soon as night came, the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived, they went to the synagogue. 11 The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true. 12 Many of them believed; and many Greek women of high social standing and many Greek men also believed. 13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul had preached the word of God in Berea also, they came there and started exciting and stirring up the mobs. 14 At once the believers sent Paul away to the coast; but both Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. 15 The men who were taking Paul went with him as far as Athens and then returned to Berea with instructions from Paul that Silas and Timothy should join him as soon as possible.
In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was greatly upset when he noticed how full of idols the city was. 17 So he held discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentiles who worshiped God, and also in the public square every day with the people who happened to come by. 18 Certain Epicurean and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?”
Others answered, “He seems to be talking about foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 So they took Paul, brought him before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, “We would like to know what this new teaching is that you are talking about. 20 Some of the things we hear you say sound strange to us, and we would like to know what they mean.” ( 21 For all the citizens of Athens and the foreigners who lived there liked to spend all their time telling and hearing the latest new thing.)
22 Paul stood up in front of the city council and said, “I see that in every way you Athenians are very religious. 23 For as I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, ‘To an Unknown God.’ That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you. 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. 25 Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone. 26 From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live. 27 He did this so that they would look for him, and perhaps find him as they felt around for him. Yet God is actually not far from any one of us; 28 as someone has said,
‘In him we live and move and exist.’
It is as some of your poets have said,
‘We too are his children.’
29 Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill. 30 God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways. 31 For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!”
32 When they heard Paul speak about a raising from death, some of them made fun of him, but others said, “We want to hear you speak about this again.” 33 And so Paul left the meeting. 34 Some men joined him and believed, among whom was Dionysius, a member of the council; there was also a woman named Damaris, and some other people.