22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus(A) and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.(B) 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship(C)—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it(D) is the Lord of heaven and earth(E) and does not live in temples built by human hands.(F) 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.(G) 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.(H) 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.(I) 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[a](J) As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[b]

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.(K) 30 In the past God overlooked(L) such ignorance,(M) but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.(N) 31 For he has set a day when he will judge(O) the world with justice(P) by the man he has appointed.(Q) He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 17:28 From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides
  2. Acts 17:28 From the Cilician Stoic philosopher Aratus

22 So Paul stood[a] before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious[b] in all respects.[c] 23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship,[d] I even found an altar with this inscription:[e] ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it,[f] this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it,[g] who is[h] Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,[i] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything,[j] because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone.[k] 26 From one man[l] he made every nation of the human race[m] to inhabit the entire earth,[n] determining their set times[o] and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,[p] 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around[q] for him and find him,[r] though he is[s] not far from each one of us. 28 For in him we live and move about[t] and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’[u] 29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity[v] is like gold or silver or stone, an image[w] made by human[x] skill[y] and imagination.[z] 30 Therefore, although God has overlooked[aa] such times of ignorance,[ab] he now commands all people[ac] everywhere to repent,[ad] 31 because he has set[ae] a day on which he is going to judge the world[af] in righteousness, by a man whom he designated,[ag] having provided proof to everyone by raising[ah] him from the dead.”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 17:22 tn Grk “standing…said.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zēlōsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  2. Acts 17:22 tn The term δεισιδαιμονεστέρους (deisidaimonesterous) is difficult. On the one hand it can have the positive sense of “devout,” but on the other hand it can have the negative sense of “superstitious” (BDAG 216 s.v. δεισιδαίμων). As part of a laudatory introduction (the technical rhetorical term for this introduction was capatatio), the term is probably positive here. It may well be a “backhanded” compliment, playing on the ambiguity.
  3. Acts 17:22 tn BDAG 513 s.v. κατά B.6 translates the phrase κατὰ πάντα (kata panta) as “in all respects.”
  4. Acts 17:23 tn Or “your sanctuaries.” L&N 53.54 gives “sanctuary” (place of worship) as an alternate meaning for the word σεβάσματα (sebasmata).
  5. Acts 17:23 tn Grk “on which was written,” but since it would have been carved in stone, it is more common to speak of an “inscription” in English. To simplify the English the relative construction with a passive verb (“on which was inscribed”) was translated as a prepositional phrase with a substantive (“inscription”).
  6. Acts 17:23 tn BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b has “Abs. ὅ ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε what you worship without knowing it (on the subject matter Maximus Tyr. 11, 5e: all sorts of philosophers ἴσασιν οὐκ ἑκόντες καὶ λέγουσιν ἄκοντες sc. τὸ θεῖον = they know and name God without intending to do so) Ac 17:23.” Paul, in typical Jewish Christian style, informs them of the true God, of whom their idols are an ignorant reflection.
  7. Acts 17:24 tn Grk “all the things that are in it.” The speech starts with God as Creator, like 14:15.
  8. Acts 17:24 tn Or “because he is.” The participle ὑπάρχων (huparchōn) could be either adjectival, modifying οὗτος (houtos, “who is Lord…”) or adverbial of cause (“because he is Lord…”). Since the participle διδούς (didous) in v. 25 appears to be clearly causal in force, it is preferable to understand ὑπάρχων as adjectival in this context.
  9. Acts 17:24 sn On the statement does not live in temples made by human hands compare Acts 7:48. This has implications for idols as well. God cannot be represented by them or, as the following clause also suggests, served by human hands.
  10. Acts 17:25 tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”
  11. Acts 17:25 tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”
  12. Acts 17:26 sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).
  13. Acts 17:26 tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”
  14. Acts 17:26 tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”
  15. Acts 17:26 tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.
  16. Acts 17:26 tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.
  17. Acts 17:27 tn See BDAG 1097-98 s.v. ψηλαφάω, which lists “touch, handle” and “to feel around for, grope for” as possible meanings.
  18. Acts 17:27 sn Perhaps grope around for him and find him. The pagans’ struggle to know God is the point here. Conscience alone is not good enough.
  19. Acts 17:27 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (huparchonta) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.
  20. Acts 17:28 tn According to L&N 15.1, “A strictly literal translation of κινέω in Ac 17:28 might imply merely moving from one place to another. The meaning, however, is generalized movement and activity; therefore, it may be possible to translate κινούμεθα as ‘we come and go’ or ‘we move about’ or even ‘we do what we do.’”
  21. Acts 17:28 sn This quotation is from Aratus (ca. 310-245 b.c.), Phaenomena 5. Paul asserted a general relationship and accountability to God for all humanity.
  22. Acts 17:29 tn Or “the divine being.” BDAG 446 s.v. θεῖος 1.b has “divine being, divinity” here.
  23. Acts 17:29 tn Or “a likeness.” Again idolatry is directly attacked as an affront to God and a devaluation of him.
  24. Acts 17:29 tn Grk “by the skill and imagination of man,” but ἀνθρώπου (anthrōpou) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
  25. Acts 17:29 tn Or “craftsmanship” (cf. BDAG 1001 s.v. τέχνη).
  26. Acts 17:29 tn Or “thought.” BDAG 336 s.v. ἐνθύμησις has “thought, reflection, idea” as the category of meaning here, but in terms of creativity (as in the context) the imaginative faculty is in view.
  27. Acts 17:30 tn Or “has deliberately paid no attention to.”
  28. Acts 17:30 tn Or “times when people did not know.”
  29. Acts 17:30 tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anthrōpois) has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).
  30. Acts 17:30 sn He now commands all people everywhere to repent. God was now asking all mankind to turn to him. No nation or race was excluded.
  31. Acts 17:31 tn Or “fixed.”
  32. Acts 17:31 sn The world refers to the whole inhabited earth.
  33. Acts 17:31 tn Or “appointed.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “of persons appoint, designate, declare: God judges the world ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν through a man whom he has appointed Ac 17:31.”sn A man whom he designated. Jesus is put in the position of eschatological judge. As judge of the living and the dead, he possesses divine authority (Acts 10:42).
  34. Acts 17:31 tn The participle ἀναστήσας (anastēsas) indicates means here.