Acts 17:19-29
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 17
19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, 'May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? 20For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.' 21(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
22So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, 'Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.
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 everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands;
25nor 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 feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’
29Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.
King James Version
20For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.
21For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)
22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
23For 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.
24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
25Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 17
19They took him and brought him to the Areopagus, and said, "May we learn about this new teaching you are presenting? 20Because what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these things mean." 21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.
22Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: "People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect.
23For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
24The God who made the world and everything in it —he is Lord of heaven and earth —does not live in shrines made by hands.
25Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.
26From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.
27He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out 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 even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
29Since we are God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.
New Living Translation
Chapter 17
19Then they took him to the high council of the city. 'Come and tell us about this new teaching,' they said. 20You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.' 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,
23for 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.
24He 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.
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.
27His 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.’
29And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
English Standard Version
Chapter 17
19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean." 21Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
22So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23For 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.
24The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
28for "‘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 International Version
Chapter 17
19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean." 21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
23For 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.
24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.
25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
28‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
New King James Version
Chapter 17
19And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
23for 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:
24“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
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.’
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.
