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.
Paulus naSilas muTessalonika
1 Paulus naSilas oya pitile muAmfipolis nomuApollonia e taye ya muTessalonika, moka mwa li mu na osinagoga yAajuda. 2 Paulus okwa yi mosinagoga, ngaashi i igilila, moka a kala nokutompa aantu nOmanyolo mOmasabati gatatu. 3 Oye okwe ya fatululile e te ya ulukile kutya Kristus okwa li e na okuhepekwa nokuyumuka kuusi. “Jesus nguka tandi mu mu uvithile, oye Kristus,” osho a ti. 4 Aajuda yamwe oya tompwa noyi itaale oohapu dhaPaulus naSilas e taa gama kuyo, osho wo ongundu onene yAagreka mboka haa simaneke Kalunga, naakiintu aanamadhina.
5 Ihe Aajuda oya kwatwa kefupa. Oyo oya gongele aalumentu aakolokoshi yomomapandaanda noya kongolola aantu e taa lundaganitha ombuyagano moshilando. Oya ponokele egumbo lyaJason noya kongo Paulus naSilas, ye ya ete komeho gongundu yaantu. 6 Ihe sho ya nyengwa oku ya mona, oya kookololele Jason nooitaali ooyakwawo koshipala shaaleli yoshilando noyi igidha taa ti: “Aalumentu mbaka oya taandelitha epiyagano apehepehe. Ngashingeyi oye li moshilando shetu. 7 NaJason nguka okwe ya edhilile megumbo lye. Oyo ya yono oompango dhomupangeli Omuroma, oshoka otaa longo aantu kutya oku na omukwaniilwa gulwe, edhina lye Jesus.” 8 Oohapu ndhika odha piyaganeke aantu ayehe yomoshilando, naapangeli wo. 9 Aaleli yoshilando oya futitha Jason nooyakwawo noye ya etha, ya ye.
MuBerea
10 Ano uusiku sho we ya, ooitaali oya laleke Paulus naSilas, ya ye kuBerea. Oyo sho ya thiki ko, oya yi mosinagoga yAajuda. 11 Aantu yomoshilando shika oya li ye na ehalo ewanawa lyokutaamba ye vule mbeyaka yomuTessalonika. Oyo oya kala ya hokwa okupulakena oohapu dhaKalunga, nesiku kehe oya kala nokukonakona Omanyolo, opo ya tale, ngele shono tashi popiwa kuPaulus, oshoshili tuu. 12 Oyendji yomuyo oya ningi ooitaali; mokati kawo omwa li mu na aakiintu aanamadhina naalumentu Aagreka oyendji.
13 Ihe Aajuda yokuTessalonika sho yu uvu kutya Paulus oku uvithile wo oohapu dhaKalunga muBerea, oye ya ko noya tameke okupiyaganeka nokutsitha aantu ondumbo. 14 Nena ooitaali oya laleke mbala Paulus, e ye komunkulo gwefuta, ihe Silas naTimoteus oya kala manga muBerea. 15 Aalumentu mboka ya thindikile Paulus, oye mu fala sigo okuAtena. Opo ihe oya galukile kuBerea nelaka lya zi kuPaulus tali ti, Silas naTimoteus naa ye mbala kuye.
MuAtena
16 Ano Paulus manga a li a tegelela Silas naTimoteus muAtena, okwa li u uvite nayi, sho a dhimbulula, nkene oshilando shu udha iikalunga. 17 Onkee okwa kala ta ludhike nAajuda naapagani mboka oonakusimaneka Kalunga mosinagoga, nokwa ludhike wo esiku kehe pehalandjandja lyoshilando naantu mboka haa kala po. Onkee okwa kala ta ludhike nAajuda naapagani mboka oonakusimaneka Kalunga mosinagoga… 18 Nena aalongi yamwe yomongundu yaaepikuri noyaastoa oya ludhike wo naye. Yamwe oye mu popi ya ti: “Omupopyagani nguno okwa hala okufatulula shike ano?”
Ooyakwawo oya ti: “Oye okwa fa ta popi kombinga yookalunga aakwiilongo.” Oya popi ngeyi, oshoka Paulus okwa li ta hokolola Jesus neyumuko. 19 Onkee oya kutha Paulus e taye mu fala moshigongi shaatokoli kuAreopagi noya ti: “Tse otwa hala okutseya elongo ndyoka epe to li longo. 20 Otu uvu to popi iinima yimwe kaatu yi shi, onkee otwa hala okutseya shoka tayi ti.” 21 Oshoka aantu ayehe yomuAtena pamwe naakwiilongo mboka ya kala mo, oya li ye hole okuhokolola nokuuva iinima iipe ethimbo alihe.
22 Nena Paulus okwa thikama komeho goshigongi shaAreopagi e ta popi ta ti: “Aalumentu ne Aayatena! Ngame ondi wete kutya one aadhiginini miinima ayihe yopalongelokalunga. 23 Oshoka ngame sho nda li tandi endaenda noshilando sheni nonda tala omahala geni omayapuki, ondi itsu oshiyambelo shimwe sha nyolwa ngeyi: ‘Oshiyambelo shaKalunga kee shiwike.’ Ano Kalunga ngoka hamu mu galikana, nando kamu mu shi, oye naanaa ngoka tandi mu uvithile. 24 Kalunga ngoka a shiti uuyuni niinima ayihe yi li mo, oye Omuwa gwegulu nogwevi. Oye iha kala mootempeli dha tungwa kaantu. 25 Moku mu longela ina pumbwa, a pewe ando sha kaantu, oshoka oye mwene ha pe aantu ayehe omwenyo nomufudho niinima ayihe. 26 Mokushita kwe Kalunga okwa kutha omihoko adhihe dhaantu momulumentu gumwe nokwe ya tula kombanda yevi alihe. Oye okwe ya uthile wo nale omathimbo gawo noongamba dhomahala gokukala kwawo. 27 Kalunga okwa hala, aantu ya kale taye mu kongo, pamwe taye mu mono mokupampadhala kwawo. Ihe Kalunga ke li kokule nomuntu nando ogumwe; 28 ngaashi gumwe a tile: ‘Muye tse otu na omwenyo, tatu inyenge notu li po.’ Ngaashi wo yamwe yomaatoti yiitewo yeni oya tumbula taa ti: ‘Natse wo aana yaKalunga.’ 29 Onkee ano ngele tse aana yaKalunga, nena inatu dhiladhileni kutya olupe lwe olwa fa efano lyoshisiliveli nenge lyemanya lya hongwa paunkulungu nopamayele gomuntu.
30 “Kalunga okwa li i idhidhimikile nale aantu pomathimbo ngeyaka, sho ya li yaa na owino, ihe ngashingeyi ota lombwele aantu ayehe shaa mpoka ye li, yi itedhulule yo ya ethe oondjila dhawo oombwinayi. 31 Nokuli oye oku utha nale esiku, uuna ndoka ta ka pangula uuyuni pauyuuki, note ke u pangulitha omulumentu ngoka e mu hogolola. Oye okwa hololele aantu ayehe oshinima shika puuyelele, sho a yumudha omulumentu ngoka kuusi.”
32 Ano sho yu uvu Paulus ta popi kombinga yeyumuko lyaasi, yamwe oye mu yolo, ihe ooyakwawo oye mu lombwele ya ti: “Otse otwa hala natango okuuva iinima mbyoka to yi popi esiku lilwe.” 33 Nena Paulus okwa zi mo moshigongi. 34 Ihe aantu yamwe oyi igameke kuye noya ningi ooitaali. Mokati kawo omwa li Dionisius, oshilyo shoshigongi shaAreopagi nomukiintu gumwe, edhina lye Damaris, nooyakwawo yalwe.
