Passage
Acts 17.26-28
Book: Acts · NASB95
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV (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: 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.
- 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 17:24-30, ASV)
WEB (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. 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.’
- 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 17:24-30, WEB)
KJV (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: 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.
- 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 17:24-30, KJV)
YLT (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, 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.
- '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 17:24-30, YLT)
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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
- TBD
- TBD
Quoted in
Arguments and defeaters:
- Anthropology Defeats Christianity Objection Defeater, via Acts 17.26, Acts 17.27, Acts 17.28
- Anthropology vs Epistemology Priority Objection Defeater, via Acts 17.28
- Aquinas Five Ways, via Acts 17.28
- Argument from Awe and Wonder, via Acts 17.27-28
- Argument from Consciousness, via Acts 17.28
- Argument from Intelligibility, via Acts 17.28
- Argument from Religious Experience, via Acts 17.27
- Argument from the Continuance of Being, via Acts 17.28
- Argument from the Demand to Be Witnessed, via Acts 17.27-28
- Argument from the Mirror-Recognition Convergence, via Acts 17.28
- Argument from the Observer-Demand Convergence, via Acts 17.28
- Bayesian Argument for Theism, via Acts 17.27
- Build the Cosmological Argument, via Acts 17.24-28
- Cartesian Skeptical Argument and Christian Responses, via Acts 17.27-28
- Christian God is the Only True God, via Acts 17.24-28
- Christianity Is the White Mans Religion Objection Defeater, via Acts 17.26
- Contingency Argument, via Acts 17.24-28, Acts 17.28
- Define the God You Deny (Debate Traps), via Acts 17.27-28
- Epistemology Defeats Christianity Objection Defeater, via Acts 17.28
- Evil God Objection Defeater, via Acts 17.26-27
- Fine-Tuning Argument, via Acts 17.24-28
- First Way - Motion, via Acts 17.28
- Gentiles Cannot Be Saved Objection Defeater, via Acts 17.22-31, Acts 17.26-27
- Hand of God Argument, via Acts 17.28
- Inference to the Best Explanation in Bio Origins Argument, via Acts 17.24-28
- Kantian Critique of Natural Theology Defeater, via Acts 17.24-28
- Meta-Ontological Argument for Theism, via Acts 17.28
- Methodological Naturalism Critique, via Acts 17.24-28
- Mitochondrial Eve Argument, via Acts 17.26
- Mythicism Refutation, via Acts 17.16-34
- Necessary Being is an Intelligent Mind, via Acts 17.24-28, Acts 17.28
- OT Polytheism Objection Defeater, via Acts 17.22-31
- Perfection Argument, via Acts 17.28
- Population Genetics for Historical Adam Argument, via Acts 17.26
- Problem of Evil, Free Will Defense
- Second Way - Efficient Causality, via Acts 17.24-28, Acts 17.28
- Stealing from God Argument, via Acts 17.28
- Transcendental Argument for God, via Acts 17.28
Concepts:
- Adam and Eve Historicity, via Acts 17.26
- African Traditional Deities (Demonic), via Acts 17.22-31
- Apologetics, via Acts 17.16-34, Acts 17.26
- Apologist, via Acts 17.16-34
- Aseity, via Acts 17.28
- Biblical Slavery Objection, via Acts 17.26
- Concurrentism, via Acts 17.28
- Conservation Laws, via Acts 17.28
- Defining Chattel Slavery and Biblical Servitude, via Acts 17.26
- Doctrine, via Acts 17.27-28
- Evangelism, via Acts 17.22-31
- General Revelation, via Acts 17.22-31
- God is Impossible Paradox Cluster, via Acts 17.24-28
- Gospel, via Acts 17.24-28
- Imago Dei, via Acts 17.26
- Is Atheism a Religion, via Acts 17.22-31
- Lesson 1.2, The Biblical Charge, via Acts 17.16-34
- Methodological Naturalism, via Acts 17.28
- Mission Geography (Acts 1-8), via Acts 17.26
- Natural Theology, via Acts 17.22-31
- Occasionalism, via Acts 17.28
- Panentheism, via Acts 17.28
- Pantheism, via Acts 17.28
- Polytheism, via Acts 17.16-34
- Quick Objection Responses, via Acts 17.27
- Salvation of the Unevangelized, via Acts 17.23-31, Acts 17.26, Acts 17.27
- Seeking God, via Acts 17.27
- Sensus Divinitatis, via Acts 17.22-31
- Spiritual But Not Religious, via Acts 17.27-28
- The Muslim Defense, via Acts 17.28
- Zeitgeist - Pagan Parallels, via Acts 17.22-34
People:
Lexicon:
- G1510 - eimi, via Acts 17.28
- G2305 - theiotes
- G3962 - pater, via Acts 17.28-29
- G5218 - hypakoe, via Acts 17.26
- G627 - apologia, via Acts 17.26
- H0120 - adam, via Acts 17.26
Guides:
Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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.