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 created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. 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.

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 25:29“Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling!
• Job 12:10For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being.
• Psalms 36:9For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
• Psalms 66:9Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
• Luke 20:38So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”
• John 5:26The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son.
• John 11:25Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
• Colossians 1:17He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
• Hebrews 1:3The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
• Luke 3:38Kenan was the son of Enosh. Enosh was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was the son of God.
• Hebrews 12:9Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

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