Amplified Bible
Acts 17:28
28For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
Acts 17:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
Context of Acts 17:28
26And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories. 27This was so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grasp for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29So then, being God’s children, we should not think that the Divine Nature (deity) is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination or skill of man. 30Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God’s purpose for their lives],
Read all of Acts 17Acts 17:28 word by word
ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν, ὡς καί τινες τῶν καθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ποιητῶν εἰρήκασιν· τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- we liveζάωzaō · to liveG2198
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- moveκινέωkineō · to moveG2795
- have our beingεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- certainτιςtis · oneG5100
- ofκατάkata · according toG2596
- your ownσύsu · youG4771
- poetsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- poetsποιητήςpoiētēs · doerG4163
- have saidἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- his offspringγένοςgenos · family: descendantG1085
Cross-references for Acts 17:28
- 1 Samuel 25:29Should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound in the [precious] bundle of the living with the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies—those He will hurl out as from the center of a sling.
- Job 12:10In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
- Psalms 36:9For with You is the fountain of life [the fountain of life-giving water]; In Your light we see light.
- Psalms 66:9Who keeps us among the living, And does not allow our feet to slip or stumble.
- Luke 20:38Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living [so these forefathers will be among the resurrected]; for all live [in a definite relationship] to Him.”
- John 5:26For just as the Father has life in Himself [and is self-existent], even so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself [and be self-existent].
- John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, relies on) Me [as Savior] will live even if he dies;
- Colossians 1:17And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]
- Hebrews 1:3The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority],
- Luke 3:38the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
- Hebrews 12:9Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we submitted and respected them [for training us]; shall we not much more willingly submit to the Father of spirits, and live [by learning from His discipline]?
Commentaries on Acts 17:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being - He is the very source of our existence: the principle of life comes from him: the principle of motion, also, comes from him; one of the most difficult things in nature to be properly apprehended; and a strong proof of the continual presence and energy of the Deity. And have our being - , And we are: we live in him, move in him, and are in him. Without him we not only can do nothing, but without him we are…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28For in him we live - The expression “in him” evidently means by him; by his originally forming us, and continually sustaining us. No words can better express our constant dependence on God. He is the original fountain of life, and he upholds us each moment. A similar sentiment is found in Plautus (5,4,14): “O Jupiter, who dost cherish and nourish the race of man; by whom we live, and with whom is the hope of the life of all men” (Kuinoel). It does not…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-31Verses 22-31 Here we have a sermon to heathens, who worshipped false gods, and were without the true God in the world; and to them the scope of the discourse was different from what the apostle preached to the Jews. In the latter case, his business was to lead his hearers by prophecies and miracles to the knowledge of the Redeemer, and faith in him; in the former, it was to lead them, by the common works of providence, to know the Creator, and worship…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-31Paul’s sermon in Athens shows how well he could adapt his preaching of the good news (Romans 11:14; 1 Corinthians 9:19–23; 10:33; compare Acts 16:3; 17:2–3; 21:20–26). His Greek audience did not know the Scriptures or believe in one God like the Jews. However, they had a strong intellectual background. Paul connected with them using an Athenian inscription on an altar TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. He then explained God’s nature as the Creator (17:22–29), followed by…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. For in him we live, and move, and have our being--(or, more briefly, "exist").--This means, not merely, "Without Him we have no life, nor that motion which every inanimate nature displays, nor even existence itself" [Meyer], but that God is the living, immanent Principle of all these in men. as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring--the first half of the fifth line, word for word, of an astronomical poem of Aratus, a…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 17:28
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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