ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Acts 17.25

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

23. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. 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;

  1. 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: (Acts 17:23-27, ASV)
WEB

23. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I announce to you. 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.

  1. 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. (Acts 17:23-27, WEB)
KJV

23. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. devotions: or, gods that ye worship 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;

  1. 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: (Acts 17:23-27, KJV)
YLT

23. for passing through and contemplating your objects of worship, I found also an erection on which had been inscribed: To God, unknown; whom, therefore, not knowing, ye do worship, this One I announce to you. 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;

  1. 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, (Acts 17:23-27, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul, addressing the council
  • Audience: Athenian philosophers at the Areopagus
  • Location: Athens
  • Time period: c. AD 50-51

Theological reading

God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all life and breath and all things.

The verse is the clearest statement of divine aseity in Acts. God's independence is asserted not as an abstract perfection but as an argument against a particular religious economy, the exchange in which worshippers supply a deity's needs and receive favour in return.

The reasoning is worth following: the reason God cannot be served as though needing anything is that he is the giver of everything that could be offered. Anything brought to him is already his, which makes the transaction incoherent. The same logic appears in Psalm 50, where God says that if he were hungry he would not tell us.

The pastoral consequence is that worship is reframed from supply to response. See Aseity.

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:

Lexicon:

Guides:

Passages:

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.