14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, ^usince it is only the third hour of the day.¹ 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, ^da man attested to you by God ^ewith ^fmighty works and wonders and signs that ^gGod did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,^{2 h}delivered up according to ⁱthe definite plan and ^jforeknowledge of God, ^kyou crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 ^lGod raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because ^mit was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about ^tthe patriarch David ^uthat he both died and ^vwas buried, and ^whis tomb is with us to this day. 30 ^xBeing therefore a prophet, and knowing that ^yGod had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that ^zhe was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus ^aGod raised up, ^band of that we all are witnesses. 33 ^cBeing therefore ^dexalted at the right hand of God, and having received from ^ethe Father ^fthe promise of the Holy Spirit, ^ghe has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For ^hDavid did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that ^jGod has made him ^kboth Lord and Christ, this Jesus ^lwhom you crucified.”

37 Now when ^mthey heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, ⁿwhat shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, ^o“Repent and ^pbe baptized every one of you ^qin the name of Jesus Christ ^rfor the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive ^sthe gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For ^tthe promise is for you and ^ufor your children and for all ^vwho are far off, everyone ^wwhom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ^x“Save yourselves from this ^ycrooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and ^zthere were added that day about three thousand souls.

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was ^gprovoked within him as he saw that the city was ^hfull of idols. 17 So ⁱhe reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ^j“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because ^khe was preaching ^lJesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to ^mthe Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this ⁿnew teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some ^ostrange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ^p‘To the unknown god.’ ^pWhat therefore you worship ^qas unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 ^rThe God who made the world and everything in it, being ^sLord of heaven and earth, ^tdoes not live in temples made by man,¹ 25 nor is he served by human hands, ^uas though he needed anything, since he himself ^vgives to all mankind ^wlife and breath and everything. 26 And ^xhe made from one man every nation of mankind to live ^yon all the face of the earth, ^zhaving determined allotted periods and ^athe boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 ^bthat they should seek God, ^cand perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. ^dYet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

as even some of ^fyour own poets have said,

29 ^gBeing then God’s offspring, ^hwe ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 ⁱThe times of ignorance ^jGod overlooked, but ^know he ^lcommands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed ^ma day on which ⁿhe will judge the world ^oin righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and ^pof this he has given assurance to all ^qby raising him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of ^rthe resurrection of the dead, ^ssome mocked. But others said, ^t“We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius ^uthe Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.