Acts 17:23

Acts 17:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
• New International Version (NIV)For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

Context of Acts 17:23

21(It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.) 22So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. 24“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

Acts 17:23 word by word

διερχόμενος γὰρ καὶ ἀναθεωρῶν τὰ σεβάσματα ὑμῶν εὗρον καὶ βωμὸν ἐν ᾧ ἐπεγέγραπτο· ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ. ὃ οὖν ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε, τοῦτο ἐγὼ καταγγέλλω ὑμῖν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• as I passed byδιέρχομαιdierchomai · to pass throughG1330
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• beheldἀναθεωρέωanatheōreō · to contemplateG333
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• devotionsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• devotionsσέβασμαsebasma · object of worshipG4574
• I foundεὑρίσκωheuriskō · to find/meetG2147
• an altarβωμόςbōmos · altarG1041
• withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• thisὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• inscriptionἐπιγράφωepigraphō · to write onG1924
• TO THE UNKNOWNἄγνωστοςagnōstos · unknownG57
• GODθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• ye ignorantlyἀγνοέωagnoeō · be ignorantG50
• worshipεὐσεβέωeusebeō · to show pietyG2151
• himοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• declareκαταγγέλλωkataggellō · to proclaimG2605
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473

Cross-references for Acts 17:23

• Romans 1:23And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
• 1 Corinthians 8:5There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.
• Psalms 147:20He has not done this for any other nation; they do not know his regulations. Praise the Lord!
• John 17:3And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
• Romans 1:20For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
• 1 Corinthians 1:21Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.
• 2 Corinthians 4:4Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
• Galatians 4:8Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.
• Ephesians 2:12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
• 1 Timothy 1:17All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
• 1 John 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
• Acts 17:30“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.
• Psalms 50:21While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.
• Matthew 15:9Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ”
• John 4:22You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.

Commentaries on Acts 17:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Beheld your devotions - , The objects of your worship; the different images of their gods which they held in religious veneration, sacrificial instruments, altars, etc., etc. To the Unknown God - . That there was an altar at Athens thus inscribed, we cannot doubt after such a testimony; though St. Jerome questions it in part; for he says St. Paul found the inscription in the plural number, but, because he would not appear to acknowledge a plurality of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23For as I passed by - Greek: “For I, coming through, and seeing, etc.” And beheld - Diligently contemplated; attentively considered ̓͂ anatheōrōnThe worship of an idolatrous people will be an object of intense and painful interest to a Christian. Your devotions - ̀ ́ ta sebasmataOur word devotions refers to the “act of worship” - to prayers, praises, etc. The Greek word used here means properly any sacred thing; any object which is worshipped, or which…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. 2323. as I passed by and beheld your devotions--rather, "the objects of your devotion," referring, as is plain from the next words, to their works of art consecrated to religion. I found an altar ... To the--or, "an" unknown god--erected, probably, to commemorate some divine interposition, which they were unable to ascribe to any known deity. That there were such altars, Greek writers attest; and on this the apostle skilfully fastens at the outset, as the…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 17:23

• Altar
• Athens
• Blindness
• Gentiles
• Idolatry
• Ignorance
• Paul
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

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

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