ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Acts 17.26-27
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Passage

Acts 17.26-27

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

24. The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25. neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26. and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; 27. that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us:

  1. for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man. (Acts 17:24-29, ASV)
WEB

24. The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, 25. neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things.

26. He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27. that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

  1. ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ 29. Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man. (Acts 17:24-29, WEB)
KJV

24. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25. Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

  1. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. (Acts 17:24-29, KJV)
YLT

24. 'God, who did make the world, and all things in it, this One, of heaven and of earth being Lord, in temples made with hands doth not dwell, 25. neither by the hands of men is He served, needing anything, He giving to all life, and breath, and all things;

26. He made also of one blood every nation of men, to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having ordained times before appointed, and the bounds of their dwellings 27. to seek the Lord, if perhaps they did feel after Him and find,, though, indeed, He is not far from each one of us,

  1. for in Him we live, and move, and are; as also certain of your poets have said: For of Him also we are offspring. 29. 'Being, therefore, offspring of God, we ought not to think the Godhead to be like to gold, or silver, or stone, graving of art and device of man; (Acts 17:24-29, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul, addressing the Areopagus (17:22)
  • Audience: the Athenians who brought him there, including Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (17:18-21), with the council of the Areopagus
  • Location: the Areopagus at Athens; the name belonged both to the hill of Ares northwest of the Acropolis and to the ancient council that took its name from it, and which of the two Luke means is debated
  • Time period: c. AD 50, on Paul's second missionary journey, shortly before his eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18:11)

Theological reading

"And he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." Paul moves from God as Maker of the world (17:24-25) to God as Maker and ruler of the nations.

Of one. The KJV reads "of one blood," following the later Greek manuscripts; the ASV reads "of one," following the older ones. Either way the point is a single origin for every nation (Strong's G1484). In context it recalls the creation of the first man (Genesis 1-2). To an audience in a culture that divided the world into Greeks and barbarians, Paul says all humanity is one family under one Creator. See Imago Dei and Adam and Eve Historicity.

Seasons and bounds. God "determined" (G3724) "their appointed seasons" (G2540, G4384) and "the bounds of their habitation" (G3734). Interpreters read this two ways: as the periods and territories of nations in history, echoing Deuteronomy 32:8, "He set the bounds of the peoples," or as the ordered seasons of the year and the habitable zones of the earth, the kind of providential witness Paul pointed to at Lystra, "rains and fruitful seasons" (14:17). Both readings make God the one who arranges the conditions of human life.

The purpose: seeking. All of this is "that they should seek God." "Feel after" (G5584) is the word for groping or handling, used of touching the risen Jesus, "handle me, and see" (Luke 24:39), and of the apostles' hands that "handled" the Word of life (1 John 1:1). Here it pictures someone feeling for something in the dark. "If haply" marks the outcome as uncertain from the human side. Yet the problem is not distance: "he is not far from each one of us." The providential order is meant to point people to its Maker, and the speech will show that this witness, though real, leaves people needing the clearer word God has now given (17:30-31). See Seeking God and General Revelation.

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

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.