---
title: Acts 17:17
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/acts-17-17/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/acts-17-17.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Acts 17:17
testament: NT
section: Acts
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Acts 17:17

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.

## JW Usage

The Watchtower rarely engages Acts 17:17 directly, because the verse exposes Paul's actual evangelistic method as public rather than house-to-house. JW literature cites Acts 5:42 and Acts 20:20 as proof of first-century door-to-door ministry; Acts 17:17 contradicts that picture and is passed over.

## Protestant Usage

Read the verse in your friend's NWT: Paul "reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the other people who worshipped God, and every day in the marketplace with those who happened to be on hand." Two venues, both public — the synagogue for devout worshippers, the marketplace (agora) for anyone passing through. Neither resembles canvassing unknown homes in a residential street. Paul addresses seekers where seekers already gather. At the door, pair this with Acts 18:4, Acts 19:8, and Acts 19:9 — four consecutive chapters showing synagogue, marketplace, and lecture hall as Paul's actual method. Door-to-door is a twentieth-century organisational requirement, not a first-century apostolic pattern.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Jesus Said 'Do Not Go From House to House'](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/luke10-house-to-house.md) — Luke 10:7 / Acts 5:42 / Acts 20:20 [Practice]