Passage

Acts 17.2

Book: Acts · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2. and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the scriptures,

opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, said he, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ. 4. And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. (Acts 17:1-4, ASV)

WEB

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2. Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4. Some of them were persuaded, and joined Paul and Silas, of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and not a few of the chief women. (Acts 17:1-4, WEB)

KJV

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2. And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. ^{whom: or, whom, said he, I preach} 4. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. (Acts 17:1-4, KJV)

YLT

And having passed through Amphipolis, and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews,

2. and according to the custom of Paul, he went in unto them, and for three sabbaths he was reasoning with them from the Writings,

opening and alleging, 'That the Christ it behoved to suffer, and to rise again out of the dead, and that this is the Christ, Jesus whom I proclaim to you.' 4. And certain of them did believe, and attached themselves to Paul and to Silas, also of the worshipping Greeks a great multitude, of the principal women also not a few. (Acts 17:1-4, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the narrator of Acts, traditionally Luke
Audience: Theophilus (Acts 1:1) and the reader
Location: the synagogue at Thessalonica, capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, reached by way of Amphipolis and Apollonia (17:1)
Time period: c. AD 50, on Paul's second missionary journey, shortly before his eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18:11)

Theological reading

"And Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures." The verse is a compact description of how Paul argued for the faith among people who shared his Bible.

A habit, not an exception. "As his custom was" (Strong's G1486) tells the reader that what follows is Paul's normal practice. Acts shows the pattern again and again: the synagogue first (13:5, 13:14, 14:1, 18:4, 19:8). It is the same expression Luke uses of Jesus going to the synagogue at Nazareth "as his custom was" (Luke 4:16).

Reasoning. The verb (G1256, from which "dialogue" comes) describes discussion with questions and answers. Luke uses it for Paul at Athens with all comers in the marketplace (17:17), at Corinth (18:4), at Ephesus over three months in the synagogue and then daily "in the school of Tyrannus" (19:8-9), and before Felix about "righteousness, and self-control, and the judgment to come" (24:25). The gospel in Acts is argued, not only announced.

From the Scriptures. The source of the argument is the Jewish Scriptures (G1124). Paul does not ask his hearers to set them aside; he claims they point to a suffering and rising Messiah (17:3). The method expects to be checked, and at the next stop the Bereans did exactly that, "examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so" (17:11).

Three sabbaths. The time marker covers the synagogue phase. It need not be the whole stay: Paul later reminds the Philippians that "even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my need" (Philippians 4:16), and he recalls working "night and day" there so as not to be a burden (1 Thessalonians 2:9).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314

Quoted in

Concepts:

Appeal to Emotion, via Acts 17.2-3
Church at Thessalonica, via Acts 17.1-9, Acts 17.2-3
Churches the Disciples Started, via Acts 17.1-2, Acts 17.1-9
Messianic Prophecy, via Acts 17.2-3

Lexicon:

G3563 - nous, via Acts 17.2-3

Passages:

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.