Acts 17:28

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

26From one man he has made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth. He has given them the seasons of the year and the boundaries within which to live. 27He has done this so that they would look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. In fact, he is never far from any one of us. Certainly, we live, move, and exist because of him. As some of your poets have said, ‘We are God’s children.’ 29So if we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think that the divine being is like an image made from gold, silver, or stone, an image that is the product of human imagination and skill. 30“God overlooked the times when people didn’t know any better. But now he commands everyone everywhere to turn to him and change the way they think and act.

Acts 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 25:29Even though someone pursued you and sought your life, your life is wrapped in the bundle of life which comes from the Lord your God. But he will dispose of the lives of your enemies like stones thrown from a sling.
• Job 12:10The life of every living creature and the spirit in every human body are in his hands.
• Psalms 36:9Indeed, the fountain of life is with you. In your light we see light.
• Psalms 66:9He has kept us alive and has not allowed us to fall.
• Luke 20:38He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. In God’s sight all people are living.”
• John 5:26The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too.
• John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die.
• Colossians 1:17He existed before everything and holds everything together.
• Hebrews 1:3His Son is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact likeness of God’s being. He holds everything together through his powerful words. After he had cleansed people from their sins, he now holds the honored position—the one next to the majestic God [the Father] on the heavenly throne.
• Luke 3:38son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.
• Hebrews 12:9On earth we have fathers who disciplined us, and we respect them. Shouldn’t we place ourselves under the authority of God, the father of spirits, so that we will live?

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

• Athens
• God
• God Continued...
• Greece
• Life
• Paul
• Poet
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Zeal, Religious

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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