New King James Version
Acts 17:29
29Therefore, 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
Context of Acts 17:29
27so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28for 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.’ 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. 30Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Read all of Acts 17Acts 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 understand.”
- Psalms 106:20Thus they changed their glory Into the image of an ox that eats grass.
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands.
- Isaiah 40:12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance?
- Isaiah 44:9Those who make an image, all of them are useless, And their precious things shall not profit; They are their own witnesses; They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
- Habakkuk 2:19Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ To silent stone, ‘Arise! It shall teach!’ Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, Yet in it there is no breath at all.
- Romans 1:20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
- Exodus 20:4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
- Exodus 32:4And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
- Isaiah 46:5“To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike?
- Jeremiah 10:4They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple.
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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries