Now while Paul waited
for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him,
when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in
the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout
persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of
the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, What
will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be
a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto
them Jesus and the resurrection. May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain
strange things to our ears: we would know therefore
what these things mean. (For all the Athenians
and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to
hear some new thing.)
Ye men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and
beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is
Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any
thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek
the Lord, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far
from every one of us: for in him we live, and
move, and have our being; as certain also of your
own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we
are the offspring of God, we ought not to
think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth
all men every where to repent: because he hath
appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which
was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris,
and others with them.