Acts 17:23-31

17:23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship,¹ I even found an altar with this inscription:² ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it,³ this I proclaim to you. 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it,⁴ who is⁵ Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,⁶ 17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything,⁷ because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone.⁸ 17:26 From one man⁹ he made every nation of the human race¹⁰ to inhabit the entire earth,¹¹ determining their set times¹² and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,¹³ 17:27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around¹⁴ for him and find him,¹⁵ though he is¹⁶ not far from each one of us. 17:28 For in him we live and move about¹⁷ and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’¹⁸ 17:29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity¹⁹ is like gold or silver or stone, an image²⁰ made by human²¹ skill²² and imagination.²³ 17:30 Therefore, although God has overlooked²⁴ such times of ignorance,²⁵ he now commands all people²⁶ everywhere to repent,²⁷ 17:31 because he has set²⁸ a day on which he is going to judge the world²⁹ in righteousness, by a man whom he designated,³⁰ having provided proof to everyone by raising³¹ him from the dead.”

¹tn Or “your sanctuaries.” L&N 53.54 gives “sanctuary” (place of worship) as an alternate meaning for the word σεβάσματα (sebasmata).

²tn Grk “on which was written,” but since it would have been carved in stone, it is more common to speak of an “inscription” in English. To simplify the English the relative construction with a passive verb (“on which was inscribed”) was translated as a prepositional phrase with a substantive (“inscription”).

³tn BDAG 13 s.v. ἀγνοέω 1.b has “Abs. ὅ ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε what you worship without knowing it (on the subject matter Maximus Tyr. 11, 5e: all sorts of philosophers ἴσασιν οὐκ ἑκόντες καὶ λέγουσιν ἄκοντες sc. τὸ θεῖον = they know and name God without intending to do so) Ac 17:23.” Paul, in typical Jewish Christian style, informs them of the true God, of whom their idols are an ignorant reflection.

⁴tn Grk “all the things that are in it.” The speech starts with God as Creator, like 14:15.

⁵tn Or “because he is.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) could be either adjectival, modifying οὗτος (Joutos, “who is Lord…”) or adverbial of cause (“because he is Lord…”). Since the participle διδούς (didou") in v. 25 appears to be clearly causal in force, it is preferable to understand ὑπάρχων as adjectival in this context.

⁶sn On the statement does not live in temples made by human hands compare Acts 7:48. This has implications for idols as well. God cannot be represented by them or, as the following clause also suggests, served by human hands.

⁷tn L&N 57.45 has “nor does he need anything more that people can supply by working for him.”

⁸tn Grk “he himself gives to all [people] life and breath and all things.”

⁹sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).

¹⁰tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”

¹¹tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”

¹²tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.

¹³tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.

¹⁴tn See BDAG 1097-98 s.v. ψηλαφάω, which lists “touch, handle” and “to feel around for, grope for” as possible meanings.

¹⁵sn Perhaps grope around for him and find him. The pagans’ struggle to know God is the point here. Conscience alone is not good enough.

¹⁶tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

¹⁷tn According to L&N 15.1, “A strictly literal translation of κινέω in Ac 17:28 might imply merely moving from one place to another. The meaning, however, is generalized movement and activity; therefore, it may be possible to translate κινούμεθα as ‘we come and go’ or ‘we move about’’ or even ‘we do what we do.’”

¹⁸sn This quotation is from Aratus (ca. 310-245 b.c.), Phaenomena 5. Paul asserted a general relationship and accountability to God for all humanity.

¹⁹tn Or “the divine being.” BDAG 446 s.v. θεῖος 1.b has “divine being, divinity” here.

²⁰tn Or “a likeness.” Again idolatry is directly attacked as an affront to God and a devaluation of him.

²¹tn Grk “by the skill and imagination of man,” but ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

²²tn Or “craftsmanship” (cf. BDAG 1001 s.v. τέχνη).

²³tn Or “thought.” BDAG 336 s.v. ἐνθύμησις has “thought, reflection, idea” as the category of meaning here, but in terms of creativity (as in the context) the imaginative faculty is in view.

²⁴tn Or “has deliberately paid no attention to.”

²⁵tn Or “times when people did not know.”

²⁶tn Here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") has been translated as a generic noun (“people”).

²⁷sn He now commands all people everywhere to repent. God was now asking all mankind to turn to him. No nation or race was excluded.

²⁸tn Or “fixed.”

²⁹sn The world refers to the whole inhabited earth.

³⁰tn Or “appointed.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “of persons appoint, designate, declare: God judges the world ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν through a man whom he has appointed Ac 17:31.”

sn A man whom he designated. Jesus is put in the position of eschatological judge. As judge of the living and the dead, he possesses divine authority (Acts 10:42).

³¹tn The participle ἀναστήσας (anasthsa") indicates means here.