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.
Paulub ge Tesalonikas ǃnâ ra aoǁnâ
1 O kha ge Paulub tsî Silab hâkha Amfipolis tsî Apolonias ǃnâ-u ge ǃkharu Jodeǁîn di sinagogeba* ūhâ ǃās Tesalonikas kōse. 2 Tsîb ge Pauluba ǁnaetib âb ǃoa sinagogeǃoabadi ǁga gere ǃgû tsîb ge saogu hâ ǃnona Sabbattsēdi ai khoen ǀkha xoade gere ǃhoaǂharugu. 3 Mîǃā tsî ra ǁgauǂuise, Xristub* nî tsâ tsî ǁōba xu khâi ǃkhais ge ǂhâbasa i ǃkhaisa. Tsîb ge “Nēb ge a Xristu, Jesub ǁîb xa ta ra aoǁnâba duba” ti ge mî. 4 Tsîn ge ǀnîn âna gowadanhe tsî Paulub tsî Silab hâkha ǀkha ge ǁaeǁaesen, kai ǃgôab di eloǃaoǃgâxa Grikeǁîn tsî ǂgui ǀgapise ǃgôasa taradi tsîna.
5 On ge Jodeǁîna surib xa ǀoa tsî ǃgangu ǃnâ ǂoa tsî ǁamaǂharuguǃkhaib tawa ǂkhabadī-aoga ū, khâikhâisen ǃnansa ǂnubi tsî ǃāsa ge gongonǃnâ. Tsîn ge Jasonni di omsa ge ǁnāǂam, Paulub tsî Silab tsîkhan nî ǂnubis ǁga ǂgaeǂuise. 6 Xawe ǁîkhan ge ǁnāpa hō tama i, on ge Jasonni tsî ǀnî ǂgomsaben ǁnāpa ge hâ ina ǃkharaǂoaxa tsî ǃās di danaǂgaeǂguis tawa ge sī-ū. Tsîn ge gere ǂgaiǂui: “Nēkha hîa ǃhūbaiba ra ǀgomǀgomkha tsîn ge nēpa ge hā, 7 tsî Jasonni xa ǁîb oms ǃnâ ge ǃkhōǃoahe. Tsî gu ge ǁîgu hoaga Kaesari di ǂnûiǂgāde ǃûǂam tsî ǀnî gao-aob, Jesub ti ǀon hâb hâ ti ra mî.”
8 Tsî nēnan ge ǁnâu, on ge ǃās di ǂgaeǂguis tsî khoena kaise ge ǂkhîoǃnâ. 9 Tsîn ge ǁamaǂuimarisan ge Jasonni tsî nauna xu ǃkhōǃoao ǁîna ge ǁnāxū.
Paulub tsî Silab tsîkha ge Bereas ǃnâ ra aoǁnâ
10 ǁNā ǃuis ǂûs ain ge ǂgomsabena Paulub tsî Silab hâkha Bereas ǁga ge sîǂoa. Tsî ǁnāpa kha ge sī, o kha ge Jodeǁîn di sinagogeb ǁga ge ǃgû. 11 Tesalonikas di khoen xan ge ǁîna ge ǁnâuǃāxa i, tsîn ge ǁîna turaxasib ǀkha mîsa ǃkhōǃoa tsî tsēkorobe Xoade gere ôaǃnâ, nē xūn a ama ǃkhaisa nî ǂanǂuise. 12 Tsî nēs xa ǃaromahe hâsen ge ǂguin âna ge ǂgom, ǀgapiǃgôahesa Grikeǁî taradi aogu tsîna.
13 Xawe Jodeǁîn Tesalonikas din ge Paulub ra Bereas tsîn ǃnâ Elob di mîsa aoǁnâ ǃkhaisa ǁnâu, on ge ǁkhāti ǁnāpa ge sī, ǂnubisa ra khâikhâiǃnâ tsî ǂkhîoǃnâsiba ǃaromase. 14 On ge ǂgomsabena ǁnātimîsi Pauluba huri-ammi ǁga ge sî tsî kha ge Silab tsî Timoteub tsîkha ǁnāpa ge hâ. 15 On ge ǁnān Pauluba ge ǁnūna ǁîba Atenes kōse ge hā-ū. Tsîn ge Pauluba xu mîmā-i ǃhaese kha nî ǁîb tawa sīs di-i, Silab tsî Timoteub hâkha ǃoa hâ-e ǃkhōǃoa tsî ǁî-i ǀkha ge oa.
Paulub ge Atenes ǃnâ ra aoǁnâ
16 Ganupeb Pauluba Silab tsî Timoteub hâkha Atenes ǃnâ ǃâu hâ hîas ge gagas âba ǃās ǁgôa-elogu xa ǀoa hâ ǃkhais xa kaise gere ǂkhîoǃnâ. 17 ǁNā-amagab ge sinagogeb ǃnâ Jodeǁîn tsî eloǃaoǃgâxa Jodeǁî taman* tsîn ǀkha gere ǃhoaǁare tsî ǁkhāti tsēkorobe ǁnān hîa ǁamaǂharuguǃkhaib tawa ra sīn ǀkha gere ǃhoa.
18 Tsî gu ge ǁkhāti ǀnî Epikure tsî Stoi ǂansegu ǀkha gere ǂnoagu. Tsîn ge ǀnîna “Tarenab kha toxopa nē kai ǃhoa-aoba nî mî?” tsîn ge nauna “ǁÎb ge ǃhao eloǃoaban di aoǁnâ-ao” ti gere mî. ǁÎb gere Jesub tsî ǁîb di ǁōba xu khâis di ǃGâiǂhôasa aoǁnâ xui-ao. 19 Tsîn ge ǁîba ǃkhō tsî Areopaxub tawa sī-ū tsî ge mî: “ǂAn ǁkhā i da kha a nēts ra ǃhoa ǀasa ǁkhāǁkhās tare ǃkhaisa? 20 Sats ge kaise ǃhao xūna ra ǃhoa tsî ge ge sige tsîna nē xūn a tare ǃkhaisa ra ǂan ǂgao.” 21 Tsîn ge hoaraga Ateneǁîn tsî ǁnāpa ge sari hâ i ǃhaokhoen tsîna ǀnî xū-i xare-e ge dī tama hâ i, ǃhoa nîse tamas ka ion ǀasa xū-e nî ǁnâuse ǀguis ose.
22 Ob ge Pauluba Areopaxub ǁaegu khâi tsî ǁîna nēti ge gowaǀî: “Ateneǁîdo, hoan ǃnâ du kaise eloǃaoǃgâxa ǃkhaisa ta ge go mû. 23 Sadu ǃās ǃnâ ta ra ǃgû tsî kōma hîa ta ge ǀgoreǀîǃnâ du ra ǃkhaide go mû. Tsî ta ge sadu ǂnubi hâ altar-i hîa ‘ǂAnsa tama Elob ǃoa’ ti a xoa-aisa-e go mû. ǁÎb hîa du ǀūǂamsib ǃnâ ra ǀgoreǀîb xa ta ge ra aoǁnâba du.
24 “ǁÎb ge ǁnā Elob, ǃhūbaib tsî ǁîb ǃnâ hâna ge dība. Tsî ǁîb a ǀhommi tsî ǃhūbaib di ǃKhū amagab ge ǁîba ǃomgu ǀkha kuruhe hâ tempelgu ǃnâ ǁan tama hâ, 25 tsîb ge khoesi ǃomgu ǀkha ǃoabahe tama, xū-eb ǁîba ǂhâba hâs xase, ǁîb ra ûib tsî ǀoms tsî hoaraga xūna mā amaga. 26 Tsîb ge ǁîba ǀgui khoeba xu hoaraga ǁaedi ǃhūbaib ai hâde ge ǂnubi tsî ǁkhāti ǀnai ǁaeb aiǃâ kamagu tsî ǃhūǀgoradi, mâ ǁaes nî mâpa hâ ǃkhais dide ge mîǁgui hâ i, 27 în Eloba ôa, în ǀnîsi tsananama tsî ǁîba hō, sada xub kaise ǃnūse hâ tama xuige. 28 ǀNî ǀgaipetsana xoa-aon sadu din ge mî khami:
“ ‘ǁÎb ǃnâ da ûi, gon tsî hâ xui-ao’
Tsîn ge ǀnî ǀgaipetsana xoa-aona mî khami
‘Sada tsîn ge a ǁîb ôananôagub di.’
29 Tsî da ge Elob ôananôagub di da a amaga ǂâi tide elosib ǃhuniǀurib, ǀhaiǀurib tamas ka io ǀui-e xu ǂnubihe hâ ī-i, khoe-i di ǁkhāsib tsî ǂâiǀgauba xu kurusa-i khami ī ǃkhaisa. 30 ǀŪǂamsib di ǁaeb, khoen ge Eloba ǀū ib ǃnâb ge Eloba gere kōǃkharuǀkhā, xaweb ge nēsi mâ-i hoa-i nî ǃhobasen ǃkhaisa ra mîmā. 31 ǁÎb ge ǀgoraǃgâs di tsēsa ǁnāb hîa nē ǃhūbaiba ǂhanu-aisib ǀkha nî ǀgoraǃgâba ge mâiba tsîb ge ǁîbab ge ǁōba xu a ǂkhaiǂkhais ǀkha hoa khoena ǁaposasiba ge mā.”
32 ǁŌ hân di ûib ǃoa ǂkhaiǂkhaihesan ge ǁnâu, on ge ǀnîna ǁîba gere ǃhō, xawen ge ǀnîna “ǁKhawa da ge ǁkhāti nēn ǂama satsa nî ǃgâ” ti gere mî. 33 Tsîb ge Pauluba ǁîna xu ge bē. 34 On ge ǀnîna ǁîb ǀkha ǀhû tsî ge ǂgom. ǁÎn ǃnâ ra ge Areopaxuǁîb Dionisiub tsî Damaris ti ge ǀon hâ i taras tsîra ge hâ i tsî ǀnîn tsîna ǁîra ǀkha.
