New Living Translation
Acts 17:29
29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
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 King James Version (NKJV)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.
Context of Acts 17:29
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. 28For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ And 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. 31For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is 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 94:7“The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.”
- Psalms 106:20They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull.
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
- Isaiah 40:12Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
- Isaiah 44:9How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.
- Habakkuk 2:19What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, ‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say, ‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside.
- 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.
- Exodus 20:4“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
- Exodus 32:4Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”
- Isaiah 46:5“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?
- Jeremiah 10:4They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over.
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
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