Acts 17:25

Acts 17:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
• New International Version (NIV)And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
• English Standard Version (ESV)nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

Context of Acts 17:25

23For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

Acts 17:25 word by word

οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεται προσδεόμενός τινος, αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσιν ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν καὶ τὰ πάντα·Read the interlinear

• norοὐδέoude · norG3761
• is He servedθεραπεύωtherapeuō · to serve/healG2323
• by humanἀνθρώπινοςanthrōpinos · humanG442
• handsχείρcheir · handG5495
• as though He neededπροσδέωprosdeomai · to needG4326
• anythingτιςtis · oneG5100
• since He Himselfαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• givesδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• to allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• and breathπνοήpnoē · wind/breathG4157

Cross-references for Acts 17:25

• Job 22:2“Can a vigorous man be of use to God, Or a wise man be useful to himself?
• Job 35:6If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him?
• Psalms 16:2I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.”
• Psalms 50:8I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
• Jeremiah 7:20Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”
• Amos 5:21“I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.
• Matthew 9:13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• Acts 17:28for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
• Acts 14:17and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”
• Genesis 2:7Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
• Numbers 16:22But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”
• Numbers 27:16“May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation,
• Job 12:10In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
• Job 27:3For as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
• Job 33:4The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
• Job 34:14If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,

Commentaries on Acts 17:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25Neither is worshiped with men's hands - This is an indirect stroke against making of images, and offering of sacrifices: he is not worshipped with human hands, as if he needed any thing, or required to be represented under a particular form or attitude; nor has he required victims for his support; for it is impossible that he should need any thing who himself gives being, form, and life, to all creatures. Giveth - life, and breath, and all things - These…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Neither is worshipped with men‘s hands - The word here rendered “worshipped” ( ́ therapeuetai) denotes to “serve”; to wait upon; and then to render religious service or homage. There is reference here, undoubtedly, to a notion prevalent among the pagan, that the gods were fed or nourished by the offerings made to them. The idea is prevalent among the Hindus that the sacrifices which are made, and which are offered in the temples, are consumed by the gods…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. 24-2524-25. God that made the world and all ... therein--The most profound philosophers of Greece were unable to conceive any real distinction between God and the universe. Thick darkness, therefore, behooved to rest on all their religious conceptions. To dissipate this, the apostle sets out with a sharp statement of the fact of creation as the central principle of all true religion--not less needed now, against the transcendental idealism of our day. seeing…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 17:25

• Athens
• Breath
• Gentiles
• God
• Life
• Paul
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Worship
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

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• Ignorantly
• James
• Manner
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• Mind

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