Veprat e Apostujve 17
1 Dhe mbasi kishin kaluar nëpër Amfipoli dhe nëpër Apoloni, arritën në Thesaloniki, ku ishte sinagoga e Judenjve.
Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia [towns] and arrived at Thessalonica [city]. There was a Jewish meeting place there.
2 Dhe Pali, sipas zakonit të vet, hyri tek ata dhe tri të shtuna me radhë u paraqiti argumente nga Shkrimet,
(On the Sabbath/On the Jewish rest day) Paul went into the meeting house, as he usually did. For three weeks [he went there] on each Jewish day of rest. Referring to the Scriptures [about the Messiah], he spoke to the people who were there.
3 duke deklaruar dhe duke treguar atyre se Krishti duhej të vuante dhe të ringjallej prej së vdekurish dhe duke thënë: “Ky Jezusi që unë ju shpall është Krishti”.
He explained and showed that [the prophets wrote that] the Messiah needed to die and (to become alive again/to be raised from the dead [afterwards]). He told them: “This man Jesus, whom I am telling you about, is our Messiah. [He died and became alive again, just like the prophets predicted].”
4 Disa nga ata besuan dhe u bashkuan me Palin dhe Silën, si dhe një numër i madh Grekësh të përshpirtshëm dhe jo pak gra të rëndësishme.
Some of the Jews [there] were persuaded by {believed} [what Paul had said] and began to associate with Paul and Silas. There were also many non-Jewish people there who worshipped God and many important women [who also believed the message about Jesus], and they began to associate with Paul and Silas.
5 Por Judenjtë, të cilët nuk kishin besuar, patën smirë dhe morën me vete disa njerëz të këqij nga ata të rrugëve të tregut dhe, si mblodhën një turmë, e bënë rrëmujë qytetin; edhe sulmuan shtëpinë e Jasonit dhe kërkonin ata për t’i nxjerrë përpara popullit.
But [some leaders of] the Jews there in Thessalonica became jealous [because many people believed what Paul taught]. So they went to the public square and persuaded some lazy men [who were loitering there] to follow them. [In this way, the leaders of] the Jews gathered a crowd and incited them to become noisy and start a riot [against Paul and Silas]. Those [Jews and others] ran to the house of [a man named] Jason. [He was the man who had invited Paul and Silas to stay at his house]. They wanted to bring Paul and Silas outside to where the crowd [of people was waiting].
6 Por, mbasi nuk i gjetën, e hoqën zvarrë Jasonin dhe disa vëllezër përpara krerëve të qytetit, duke thirrur: “Ata që e kanë bërë rrëmujë botën, kanë ardhur edhe këtu,
They discovered that Paul and Silas were not there, but they found Jason [and grabbed him]. They dragged him and some of the [other] believers to where the city officials/authorities and [many other people were gathered]. The men [who had brought Jason] shouted, “Those [two] men have caused trouble [IDM] everywhere [HYP] [they have gone]. Now they have come to our city,
7 dhe Jasoni këta i priti; të gjithë këta veprojnë kundër statuteve të Cezarit, duke thënë se është një mbret tjetër, Jezusi”.
and [this fellow] Jason invited them to stay at his house. All the people [of this sect] oppose what our Emperor has decreed. They say that another person, whose name is Jesus, is [the real] king!”
8 Edhe nxitën popullin dhe krerët e qytetit, që i dëgjonin këto gjëra.
When the crowd of people [that had gathered] and the city authorities heard that, they became very angry and excited.
9 Por ata, mbasi morën një dorëzani nga Jasoni dhe nga të tjerët, i lejuan të shkojnë.
[They wanted to put the believers in jail. But instead], the officials made Jason and the other [believers] pay a fine and told them that they [would give the money back to them if Paul and Silas did not cause any more trouble]. Then the authorities let Jason and those other believers go.
10 Atëherë vëllezërit menjëherë natën i nisën Palin dhe Silën për në Berea dhe ata, sapo arritën atje, hynë në sinagogën e Judenjve.
[So] that same night, the believers sent Paul and Silas [out of Thessalonica] to Berea [town]. When Paul and Silas arrived there, they went to the Jewish meeting place, [on a day when people had gathered there].
11 Por këta ishin më fisnikë nga ndjenjat se ata të Thesalonikit dhe e pranuan fjalën me gatishmëri të madhe, duke i shqyrtuar çdo ditë Shkrimet për të parë nëse këto gjëra ishin ashtu.
The [Jews] in Thessalonica had not been very willing to listen to God’s message, but the [Jews] who lived in Berea were very willing to listen, so they listened very eagerly to the message [about Jesus]. Every day they read the Scriptures [for themselves] to find out if what Paul said [about the Messiah] was true.
12 Shumë nga ata, pra, besuan bashkë me një numër jo të vogël grash fisnike greke dhe burrash.
As a result, many of the Jewish people believed [in Jesus], and also some of the important non-Jewish women and many non-Jewish men [believed in him].
13 Por, kur Judenjtë e Thesalonikit morën vesh se fjala e Perëndisë ishte shpallur nga Pali edhe në Berea, shkuan edhe atje dhe e turbulluan turmën.
But then the Jews in Thessalonica heard [people tell them] that Paul [was] in Berea and that he was preaching the message from God [about Jesus]. So they went to Berea and [told people there that what Paul was teaching was not true. Thus], they caused many of those people to get angry [at Paul].
14 Atëherë vëllezërit e nisën menjëherë Palin në drejtim të detit, por Sila dhe Timoteu qëndruan atje.
So [several of] the believers [in Berea] took Paul to the coast [to go to another province]. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.
15 Ata që i prinin Palit e çuan deri në Athinë; pastaj, mbasi morën porosi për Silën dhe Timoteun që të arrijnë sa më parë tek ai, u kthyen prapa.
When Paul and the other men from Berea [arrived at the coast, they got on a ship and] went to Athens [city]. Then Paul said [to the men who had come with him], “Tell Silas and Timothy to come to me [here in Athens] as soon as they can.” Then those men left [Athens and returned to Berea].
16 Ndërsa Pali po i priste në Athinë, po i ziente fryma përbrenda, kur pa qytetin plot me idhuj.
In Athens, Paul waited for Silas and Timothy [to arrive. In the meantime, he walked around in the city. He] became very distressed/disturbed because he saw that throughout [HYP] the city there were many idols.
17 Ai, pra, po diskutonte në sinagogë me Judenjtët dhe me njerëz të përshpirtshëm dhe çdo ditë në sheshin e tregut me ata që takonte.
So he went to the Jewish meeting place and talked [about Jesus] with the Jews, and also with the Greeks who had accepted what the Jews believe. He also went to the public square/center every day and talked to the people [whom he met] there.
18 Diskutonin me të edhe disa filozofë epikurianë dhe stoikë. Disa thoshnin: “Vallë ç’do të thotë ky llafazan”. Dhe të tjerë thoshnin: “Ai duket se është një kasnec i perëndivë të huaja”, sepse u shpall atyre Jezusin dhe ringjalljen.
Paul met some teachers who liked to talk about what people should believe. [People called] some of them Epicureans and [they called] others Stoics. They told Paul [what they believed], and they asked him [what he believed. Then] some of them said [to one another], “This ignorant person is just talking nonsense [RHQ]!” Others said, “[We(exc) think] that he is teaching people about (foreign gods/[new] gods that we [(exc)] have not heard about).” They said that because Paul was telling them that Jesus [had died and] had become alive again [afterwards. They had not heard that message before].
19 Dhe e zunë dhe e çuan në Areopag, duke thënë: “A mund ta marrim vesh ç’është kjo doktrinë e re për të cilën ti flet?
So they took Paul to the place where the city council met. [When they arrived] there, they said to Paul, “[Please] tell us, what is this new message that you [(sg)] are teaching people?
20 Sepse ti sjell disa gjëra të huaja në veshët tanë, prandaj duam të dimë ç’kuptim kanë ato.
You are teaching some things that startle us [(exc)], so we want to know what they mean.”
21 Atëherë gjithë Athinasit dhe të huajt që banonin atje nuk e kalonin kohën më mirë sesa duke folur ose duke dëgjuar ndonjë fjalë të re.
[They said that, because] the people of Athens and also the people from other regions who lived there continually talked about what was new [to them], or they listened to [others tell] what was new.
22 Atëherë Pali, duke qëndruar në këmbë në mes të Areopagut, tha: “O burra athinas, unë shoh se në të gjitha gjërat ju jeni shumë fetarë”.
Then Paul stood up before the men of the city council and said, “Citizens of Athens, I see that you (are very religious/think that it is very important to worship many gods).
23 Sepse, duke ecur e duke vënë re objektet e kultit tuaj, gjeta edhe një altar mbi të cilin është shkruar: “PERÉNDISÉ SÉ PANJOHUR”. Atë, pra, që ju e adhuroni pa e njohur, unë po jua shpall.
I [say that] because, while I was walking along and observing the objects [that represent different gods that] you worship, I even saw an altar that had these words [that someone had] carved [on it: THIS HONORS] THE GOD [THAT WE(exc)] DO NOT KNOW. So now I will tell you about [that God] whom you worship but you do not know.
24 Perëndia që bëri botën dhe të gjitha gjërat që janë në të, duke qenë Zot i qiellit dhe i tokës, nuk banon në tempuj të bërë nga duart e njeriut,
He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Because he rules over all [beings in] heaven and [on] earth, he does not dwell in shrines that people have made.
25 dhe as shërbehet nga duart e njerëzve, sikur të kishte nevojë për ndonjë gjë, sepse ai u jep të gjithëve jetë, hukatje dhe çdo gjë;
He does not need to have anything made for him by people [MTY] {to have people [MTY] make [MTY] anything for him}, because everything that exists belongs to him. He is the one who causes (us [(inc)]/all people) to live and breathe, and [he gives us] all the things [that we(inc) need].
26 dhe ai ka bërë nga një gjak i vetëm të gjitha racat e njerëzve, që të banojnë në mbarë faqen e dheut, dhe caktoi kohërat me radhë dhe caqet e banimit të tyre,
[In the beginning], God created one couple, and from them God produced all (the ethnic groups/the nations) that now live everywhere on the earth. He also decided where each ethnic group of people should live and how long they should live [there].
27 që të kërkojnë Zotin, mbase mund ta gjejnë duke prekur, ndonëse ai nuk është larg nga secili prej nesh.
He wanted people to realize that they need him. Then maybe they would seek him and find him. [God wants us to seek him], although he is [really] close [LIT] to each one of us.
28 Sepse në të ne jetojmë, lëvizim dhe jemi, sikurse kanë thënë edhe disa nga poetët tuaj: “Sepse jemi edhe ne pasardhës të tij”.
As someone has said, ‘[It is only] because he enables us that we [(inc)] live and move and do [what we do].’ And, as some of your own poets have said, ‘We [(inc)] are God’s children.’
29 Duke qenë, pra, se ne jemi pasardhës të Perëndisë, nuk duhet të mendojmë që natyra e perëndishme është e ngjashme me arin ose me argjendin, ose me gurin ose me një vepër arti të latuar dhe të shpikur nga njeriu.
Therefore, because we are God’s children [and can communicate like God does], we [(inc)] should not think that he is anything like an image [that people have made] of gold or silver or stone [which cannot communicate]. Those images are designed and skillfully made {People design and make those images}, [but they are not alive].
30 Perëndia, pra, duke kaluar përmbi kohërat e padijes, i urdhëron të gjithë njerëzit dhe kudo që të pendohen.
During the times when people did not know [what God wanted them to do], he did not [immediately] punish [them for what they did]. But now God commands all people everywhere to turn away from their evil behavior.
31 Sepse ai ka caktuar një ditë në të cilën do të gjykojë me drejtësi botën me anë të atij njeriu të cilin ai e ka caktuar; dhe për këtë u ka dhënë të gjithëve një provë të sigurt, duke e ringjallur prej të vdekurit”.
[He tells us] that on a certain day that he has chosen he is going to judge [all of us(inc) people in] [MTY] the world. He has appointed a [certain] man to judge [us, and that man will judge each of us] fairly/justly. God has shown to all [people that he has appointed that man to judge everyone], because God (caused him to become alive again after he had died/raised him from the dead).”
32 Kur dëgjuan të flitej për ringjalljen e të vdekurve, disa e përqeshën dhe të tjerë thoshnin: “Do të të dëgjojmë përsëri për këtë gjë”.
When the men of the council heard [Paul say] that ([a man] had become alive again after he had died/[someone] had been raised from the dead), some of them laughed scornfully. But others said, “We [(exc)] would like you [(sg)] to tell us more about this, some other time.”
33 Kështu Pali doli nga mesi i tyre.
After they said that, Paul left the council [meeting].
34 Por disa u bashkuan me të dhe besuan, ndër këta edhe Dionis areopagiti, një grua që quhej Damaris dhe ca të tjerë me ta.
However, some of the people there went along with Paul and became believers. Among those [who believed in Jesus] was a member of the council whose [name was] Dionysius. Also, an [important] woman whose name was Damaris and some other people [who had heard Paul’s message also believed in Jesus].
