Passage

Acts 17.18

Book: Acts · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"16. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols. 17. So he reasoned in the synagogue with Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with them that met him."

"18. And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached Jesus and the resurrection."

"19. And they took hold of him, and brought him unto the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by thee? 20. For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean." (Acts 17:16-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"16. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols. 17. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who met him."

"18. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also were conversing with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign deities,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection."

"19. They took hold of him, and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by you? 20. For you bring certain strange things to our ears. We want to know therefore what these things mean.”" (Acts 17:16-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"16. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. ^{wholly: or, full of idols} 17. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him."

"18. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. ^{babbler: or, base fellow}"

"19. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? ^{Areopagus: or, Mars-hill: it was the highest court in Athens} 20. For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean." (Acts 17:16-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"16. and Paul waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, beholding the city wholly given to idolatry, 17. therefore, indeed, he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the worshipping persons, and in the market-place every day with those who met with him."

"18. And certain of the Epicurean and of the Stoic philosophers, were meeting together to see him, and some were saying, 'What would this seed picker wish to say?' and others, 'Of strange demons he doth seem to be an announcer;' because Jesus and the rising again he did proclaim to them as good news,"

"19. having also taken him, unto the Areopagus they brought [him], saying, 'Are we able to know what [is] this new teaching that is spoken by thee, 20. for certain strange things thou dost bring to our ears? we wish, then, to know what these things would wish to be;'" (Acts 17:16-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

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.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

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.