Passage

Acts 17.30

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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. 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."

"30. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent:"

"31. inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. 32. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, We will hear thee concerning this yet again." (Acts 17:28-32, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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.’ 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."

"30. The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,"

"31. because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.” 32. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We want to hear you again concerning this.”" (Acts 17:28-32, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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. 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."

"30. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:"

"31. Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. ^{hath given: or, offered faith} 32. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter." (Acts 17:28-32, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"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. 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;"

"30. the times, indeed, therefore, of the ignorance God having overlooked, doth now command all men everywhere to reform,"

"31. because He did set a day in which He is about to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom He did ordain, having given assurance to all, having raised him out of the dead.' 32. And having heard of a rising again of the dead, some, indeed, were mocking, but others said, 'We will hear thee again concerning this;'" (Acts 17:28-32, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle, speaking at the Areopagus in Athens (narrated by Luke)
Audience: Athenian Stoic and Epicurean philosophers gathered on Mars' Hill
Location: Athens, the Areopagus
Time period: Paul's second missionary journey, c. AD 50-51
Narrative context: the climactic pivot of the Areopagus sermon (Acts 17:22-31). Paul has engaged the philosophers on their own ground, working from the "Unknown God" altar through natural revelation, citing Aratus and Epimenides. Verse 30 is where the apologetic argument becomes the evangelistic call: "now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent." It is the canonical NT example of the apologist-to-evangelist transition.

Theological reading

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.