Acts 17:29

Acts 17:29 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

Context of Acts 17:29

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. 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.’ So 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], 31because He has set a day when He will judge the inhabited world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed and destined for that task, and He has provided credible proof to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

Acts 17:29 word by word

γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ὀφείλομεν νομίζειν χρυσῷ ἢ ἀργύρῳ ἢ λίθῳ, χαράγματι τέχνης καὶ ἐνθυμήσεως ἀνθρώπου, τὸ θεῖον εἶναι ὅμοιον.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forasmuch thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• as we areὑπάρχωhuparchō · be alreadyG5225
• the offspringγένοςgenos · family: descendantG1085
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• we oughtὀφείλωopheilō opheileō · to oweG3784
• notοὐou · noG3756
• to think thatνομίζωnomizō · to thinkG3543
• the Godheadθεῖοςtheios · divineG2304
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• like untoὅμοιοςhomoios · likeG3664
• goldχρυσόςchrusos · goldG5557
• orἤē · orG2228
• silverἄργυροςarguros · silverG696
• stoneλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
• gravenχάραγμαcharagma · image/markG5480
• by artτέχνηtechnē · skillG5078
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• man’sἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• deviceἐνθύμησιςenthumēsis · reflectionG1761

Cross-references for Acts 17:29

• Psalms 94:7Yet they say, “The Lord does not see, Nor does the God of Jacob (Israel) notice it.”
• Psalms 106:20Thus they exchanged [the true God who was] their glory For the image of an ox that eats grass.
• Psalms 115:4The idols [of the nations] are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands.
• Isaiah 40:12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand], And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?
• Isaiah 44:9All who make carved idols are nothing. Their precious objects are worthless [to them], and their own witnesses (worshipers) fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.
• Habakkuk 2:19Woe (judgment is coming) to him who says to the wooden image, ‘Awake!’ And to the speechless stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Look, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it.
• Romans 1:20For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.
• Exodus 20:4“You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].
• Exodus 32:4And he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
• Isaiah 46:5“To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we may be alike?
• Jeremiah 10:4They adorn the idol with silver and with gold; They fasten it with hammers and nails So that it will not fall apart.

Commentaries on Acts 17:29

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, etc. - This inference of the apostle was very strong and conclusive; and his argument runs thus: "If we are the offspring of God, he cannot be like those images of gold, silver, and stone, which are formed by the art and device of man; for the parent must resemble his offspring. Seeing, therefore, that we are living and intelligent beings, He from whom we have derived that being must be living and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29Forasmuch then - Admitting or assuming this to be true. The argument which follows is drawn from the concessions of their own writers. We ought not to think - It is absurd to suppose. The argument of the apostle is this: “Since we are formed by God; since we are like him, living and intelligent beings; since we are more excellent in our nature than the most precious and ingenious works of art, it is absurd to suppose that the original source of our…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. 2929. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think--The courtesy of this language is worthy of notice. that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device--("graven by the art or device of man"). One can hardly doubt that the apostle would here point to those matchless monuments of the plastic art, in gold and silver and costliest stone, which lay so profusely beneath and around him. The more…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 17:29

• Athens
• God
• Idolatry
• Paul
• Readings, Select
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Appoint
• Areopagus
• Assurance
• Blood
• Determine
• Godhead
• Ignorantly
• James

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