Paul and Silas in Thessalonica

17 ¹Paul and Silas traveled through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia. They came to the city of Thessalonica. In that city there was a Jewish synagogue.* ²Paul went into this synagogue to see the Jews. This is what he always did. Every Sabbath day* for three weeks Paul talked with the Jews about the Scriptures.* ³Paul explained these Scriptures to the Jews. He showed that the Christ* must die and then rise from death. Paul said "This man Jesus that I am telling you about is the Christ." ⁴Some of the Jews there believed Paul and Silas and decided to join them. Also, there were some Greek men who worshiped the true God and some important women. A large group of the men and many of the women joined Paul and Silas. ⁵But the Jews [that did not believe] became jealous. They hired some bad men from the city. These bad men gathered many people and made trouble in the city. They went to Jason's house, looking for Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring Paul and Silas out before the people. ⁶But they did not find Paul and Silas. So the people dragged Jason and some of the other believers to the leaders of the city. The people yelled, "These men (Paul and Silas) have made trouble everywhere in the world. And now they have come here too! ⁷Jason is keeping them in his house. They all do things against the laws of Caesar.* They say there is another king called Jesus." ⁸The leaders of the city and the other people heard these things. They became very upset. ⁹They made Jason and the other believers pay a fine. Then they let the believers go free.

Paul and Silas Go to Berea

¹⁰That same night the believers sent Paul and Silas to another city named Berea. In Berea, Paul and Silas went to the Jewish synagogue.* ¹¹These Jews were better people than the Jews in Thessalonica. These Jews were very happy to listen to the things Paul and Silas said. These Jews in Berea studied the Scriptures* every day. They wanted to know if these things were true. ¹²Many of these Jews believed. Many important Greek men and Greek women also believed. ¹³But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was telling the word of God in Berea, they came to Berea too. The Jews from Thessalonica upset the people in Berea and made trouble. ¹⁴So the believers sent Paul away quickly to the sea. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. ¹⁵The believers that went with Paul took him to the city of Athens. These brothers carried a message from Paul back to Silas and Timothy. The message said, "Come to me as soon as you can."

synagogue(s) Synagogues were places where Jews gathered for prayer, study of the Scriptures, and other public meetings. Sabbath day The seventh day of the Jewish week. It was a special religious day for the Jews. Scriptures Holy Writings--the Old Testament. Christ The "anointed one" (Messiah) or chosen one of God. Caesar The name given to the emperor (ruler) of Rome.