Caeltueih 17
1 Te phoeiah Amphipolis neh Apollonia te a hil rhoi tih Thessalonika la pawk rhoi. Te ah te Judah rhoek kah tunim om.
Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia [towns] and arrived at Thessalonica [city]. There was a Jewish meeting place there.
2 Te vaengah a sainoek bangla Paul te amih taengla kun tih Sabbath voei thum amih taengah olcim te a thui.
(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 Te vaengah, “Khrih he patang tih duek lamkah a thoh a kuek te khaw, Jesuh amah tah Khrih ni. Anih te ni kai loh nangmih taengah ka doek,” tila a ong pah tih a tawn pah.
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 Te vaengah amih khuikah hlangvang tah ngailaem tih Paul neh Silas taengla kibaeng uh. Greek rhoek khuiah huta rhaengpuei a yet loh a bawk uh tih tanglue rhoek khaw a yool mai moenih.
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 Tedae Judah rhoek te a thatlai uh dongah boethae hlang rhoek te dumlo lailo la hlangvang a khuen tih khopuei ah sarhingrhup la a a kuk uh. Te phoeiah Jason im te a pai thil uh tih amih rhoi te rhaengpuei taengah phoe sak ham a toem uh.
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 Tedae amih rhoi te a hmuh uh pawt vaengah Jason neh manuca rhoek hlangvang te khoboei rhoek taengla a mawt uh. Te phoeiah, “Amih loh lunglai a palet uh tih he la om rhoi coeng.
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 Amih te Jason loh a doe. Te dongah amih tah Kaisar kah oltloek te boeih a khoboe thil uh tih, 'Manghai tloe Jesuh om,’ a ti uh, “tila pang uh.
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 Te te a yaak uh vaengah hlangping neh khoboei rhoek khaw thuen uh.
When the crowd of people [that had gathered] and the city authorities heard that, they became very angry and excited.
9 Tedae Jason neh a tloe rhoek taengkah a doe uh khangrhang daengah amih te a hlah uh.
[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 Te dongah Paul neh Silas te manuca rhoek loh khoyin ah Berea la pahoi a tueih uh. A pha uh vaengah Judah rhoek kah tunim ah kun uh.
[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 Tedae amih tah Thessalonika kah rhoek lakah hlangtang la om uh. Amih tah khalanah cungkuem neh olka te a doe uh. Hno he om tang nim tila hnin takuem ah cacim te a thuep uh.
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 Te dongah amih khuikah loh muep a tangnah uh. Te veangkah Greek huta tongpa hlangcong khaw a yool mai moenih.
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 Paul loh Berea ah Pathen kah olka a doek van tila Thessalonika lamkah Judah rhoek loh a ming uh. Te vaengah ha lo uh tih a hinghoek dongah hlangping te a hinghuen sakuh.
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 Te dongah tuitunli duela caeh sak ham manuca rhoek loh Paul te pahoi a thak uh. Tedae Silas neh Timothy tah pahoi duem rhoi pueng.
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 Te vaengkah a hmoel rhoek loh Paul te Athens duela a thak uh. Te phoeiah Silas neh Timothy te anih taengah thamaa la lo sak ham olpaek te a doe uh tih bal uh.
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 Amih te Paul loh Athens ah a rhing. Khopuei mueirhol la a poeh te a hmuh vaengah a mueihla tah a khuiah umya.
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 Te dongah tunim kah Judah rhoek nen khaw, aka bawk rhoek nen khaw, hnin takuem kah hnoyoih hmuen ah a hmuh rhoek taengah khaw a thuingong uh.
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 A lak vaengah Epikouri neh Satoiko kah poeksoemkung rhoek long khaw anih te a loepdak uh. Te dongah a ngen loh, “Olom loh banim thui a ngaih he. A tloe rhoek loh, “Kholong kah sungrhai aka thuikung i ti. Jesuh neh thohkoepnah ni a phong,” a ti uh.
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 Anih te a tuuk uh tih Areo Pagos la a khuen uh phoeiah, “Nang loh a thai la thuituennah dongah na thui te ka ming uh thai aya?
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 Kaimih hnavue ah nang khuen dongah a ngen tah suel coeng. Te dongah tekah a ti ngaih te ming ham ka cai uh,” a ti uh.
You are teaching some things that startle us [(exc)], so we want to know what they mean.”
21 Te vaengkah Athen pum neh aka laiom yinlai ham khaw a tloe moenih. A hoeng hoep vaengah pakhat khaw a thui tih a thai la pakhat khaw a yaak uh.
[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 Te dongah Paul loh Areo Pagos laklung ah pai tih, “Athen hlang rhoek, cungkuem dongah na cuep uh te ka hmuh.
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 Tedae ka caeh vengah na bawknah te ka thuep hatah hmueihtuk pakhat dongah MANGVAWT Pathen la a daek te ka hmuh bal. Te dongah mangvawt taengah tho na thueng uh. He ni kai loh nangmih taengah ka doek.
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 Diklai neh a khuikah boeih aka saii Pathen, vaan neh diklai kah Boeipa la aka om he kutsai bawkim ah kho a sak moenih. Hlanghing kut loh a yuh a yam ham pakhat khaw a kuek moenih.
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 Amah loh a cungkuem taengah hingnah, hiil neh a cungkuem he a paek.
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 Pakhat lamloh diklai hman boeih ah khosak ham namtom hlang boeih khaw a saii. Khoning a hmoel tih amih omnah te khorhi la a suem pah.
[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 Pathen te a toem atah amah te tapkhoeh m'phathuep sak tih m'ming sak ni. Tedae amah te mamih pakhat rhip taeng lamloh lakhla la a om moenih.
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 Amah dongah n'hing uh tih m'pongpa la ng'om uh. Nangmih khui kah hlangvang loh hlohlai neh a thui vanbangla, amah kah namtu la n'om uh.
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 Pathen kah namtu la aka om loh sui, ngun, lungto, bungkhutnah kutnoek neh hlang kah poeknah he Pathen bangla om tila poek ham a om moenih.
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 Kotalhnah tue vaengah Pathen loh n'hnoelrhoeng mai cakhaw hlang boeih te yut sak ham khotomrhali a uen coeng.
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 A hmoel hlang loh duengnah dongah lunglai he laitloek thil ham khohnin te a pai sak coeng. Anih te duek lamkah a thoh tih a cungkuem ham tangnah khaw a soep sak,” a ti nah.
[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 Duek lamkah thohkoepnah te a yaak uh vaengah hlangvang loh nueih thil cakhaw a ngen long tah, “Nang kawng he koep ka hnatun bal ni,” a ti uh.
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 Te vanbangla Paul tah amih khui lamkah loh vik nong.
After they said that, Paul left the council [meeting].
34 Tedae aka tangnah hlang hlangvang rhoek tah Paul taengah kap uh. Amih khuiah Areopagite khoboei Dionysus, te phoeiah huta pakhat, a ming ah Damaris neh amih taengkah a tloe rhoek khaw omuh.
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].
