Acts 17:22

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

So Paul stood before the Areopagus and said,“Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Acts 25:19 : 19 Rather they had several points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a man named Jesus who was dead, whom Paul claimed to be alive.
  • Jer 10:2-3 : 2 The LORD says,“Do not start following pagan religious practices. Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky even though the nations hold them in awe. 3 For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.
  • Jer 50:38 : 38 A drought will come upon her land; her rivers and canals will be dried up. All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. Her people act like madmen because of those idols they fear.
  • Acts 17:16 : 16 Paul at Athens While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was greatly upset because he saw the city was full of idols.
  • Acts 19:35 : 35 After the city secretary quieted the crowd, he said,“Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven?

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Acts 17:23-24
    2 verses
    87%

    23For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you.

    24The God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,

  • Acts 17:15-21
    7 verses
    83%

    15Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.

    16Paul at Athens While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was greatly upset because he saw the city was full of idols.

    17So he was addressing the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue, and in the marketplace every day those who happened to be there.

    18Also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were asking,“What does this foolish babbler want to say?” Others said,“He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.”(They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)

    19So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, saying,“May we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming?

    20For you are bringing some surprising things to our ears, so we want to know what they mean.”

    21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time in nothing else than telling or listening to something new.)

  • Acts 14:11-16
    6 verses
    74%

    11So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language,“The gods have come down to us in human form!”

    12They began to call Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

    13The priest of the temple of Zeus, located just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

    14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,

    15“Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.

    16In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways,

  • Acts 19:25-29
    5 verses
    72%

    25He gathered these together, along with the workmen in similar trades, and said,“Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this business.

    26And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.

    27There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing, and she whom all the province of Asia and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.”

    28When they heard this they became enraged and began to shout,“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

    29The city was filled with the uproar, and the crowd rushed to the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

  • Acts 19:34-37
    4 verses
    70%

    34But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison,“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for about two hours.

    35After the city secretary quieted the crowd, he said,“Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven?

    36So because these facts are indisputable, you must keep quiet and not do anything reckless.

    37For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.

  • Acts 18:13
    70%

    13saying,“This man is persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law!”

  • Acts 24:11
    69%

    11As you can verify for yourself, not more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

  • Acts 14:18
    69%

    18Even by saying these things, they scarcely persuaded the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.

  • Acts 17:27-30
    4 verses
    69%

    27so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

    28For in him we live and move about and exist, as even some of your own poets have said,‘For we too are his offspring.’

    29So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination.

    30Therefore, although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent,

  • Acts 28:22
    68%

    22But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know that people everywhere speak against it.”

  • Acts 13:16
    68%

    16So Paul stood up, gestured with his hand and said,“Men of Israel, and you Gentiles who fear God, listen:

  • Acts 16:17
    68%

    17She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out,“These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

  • Gal 4:8
    68%

    8Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all.

  • Acts 17:33-34
    2 verses
    67%

    33So Paul left the Areopagus.

    34But some people joined him and believed. Among them were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

  • Acts 21:28-29
    2 verses
    67%

    28shouting,“Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this sanctuary! Furthermore he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple and made this holy place ritually unclean!”

    29(For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.)

  • Acts 21:19
    67%

    19When Paul had greeted them, he began to explain in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

  • Acts 19:17
    66%

    17This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.

  • Acts 18:4
    66%

    4He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them.

  • 1 Thess 1:9
    66%

    9For people everywhere report how you welcomed us and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

  • Acts 23:1
    66%

    1Paul looked directly at the council and said,“Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day.”

  • Acts 22:1
    66%

    1Paul’s Defense“Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you.”

  • Acts 26:24
    65%

    24As Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed loudly,“You have lost your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!”

  • Acts 24:14
    65%

    14But I confess this to you, that I worship the God of our ancestors according to the Way(which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law and that is written in the prophets.

  • Eph 4:17
    65%

    17Live in Holiness So I say this, and insist in the Lord, that you no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

  • Acts 17:1
    65%

    1Paul and Silas at Thessalonica After they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

  • Acts 17:12
    65%

    12Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.