ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Acts 17.27-28
Page Nav

Passage

Acts 17.27-28

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

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: 28. 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.

  1. 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. 30. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: (Acts 17:25-30, ASV)
WEB

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. 28. ‘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.’

  1. 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. 30. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, (Acts 17:25-30, WEB)
KJV

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: 28. 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.

  1. 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. 30. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:25-30, KJV)
YLT

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, 28. for in Him we live, and move, and are; as also certain of your poets have said: For of Him also we are offspring.

  1. '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; 30. the times, indeed, therefore, of the ignorance God having overlooked, doth now command all men everywhere to reform, (Acts 17:25-30, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

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

"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: 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." These verses are the center of Paul's argument from creation.

Groping toward God. "Feel after" (Strong's G5584) is a word for touching or handling, used of the disciples handling the risen Jesus (Luke 24:39) and of the apostles' hands that "handled" the Word of life (1 John 1:1). Here it pictures someone reaching in the dark. Human seeking is real, and uncertain: "if haply."

Not far. The reason seeking is possible is that God is near: "he is not far from each one of us." The next clause explains why: "in him we live, and move, and have our being." Every human life, motion and existence is held in being by God. This is not the Stoic claim that we are parts of God. Paul has just said that God made the world and is its Lord (17:24). The nearness is that of a Maker who sustains what he made, not of a whole to its parts. See Argument from the Continuance of Being and Panentheism.

The poets. "For we are also his offspring" is a line from Aratus of Soli, a third-century BC poet (Phaenomena 5). The line originally referred to Zeus. Paul introduces it with "certain even of your own poets," in the plural, which suggests he is citing a thought found in more than one Greek writer. The source of the first line, "in him we live, and move, and have our being," is debated.

Using a pagan poet. Paul does not endorse Zeus. He takes a true observation that Greek poets made, that human beings stand in a relation of origin and dependence to God, and gives it its proper object. The conclusion he draws in the next verse is one the poets did not: if we are God's offspring, the divine cannot be represented by gold or stone (17:29). See Natural Theology.

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.