28
Forγὰρinἐνhimαὐτῷwe liveζῶμενandκαὶmoveκινούμεθαandκαὶare,ἐσμένasὡςevenκαίsomeτινεςofτῶνyour ownκαθ’ ὑμᾶςpoetsποιητῶνhave said,εἰρήκασιν‘Forγὰρwe areἐσμένalsoκαὶhisΤοῦoffspring.’γένος
Acts 17:28
Study it in the app“For in him we live and move and are, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’”
Paul in Athens: God needs no temples and is not far from anyoneWho God Is
With the Greek beneath
Acts 17:28, word by word
- we liveζῶμενzōmen
live
To have life in the body, or receive it again after dying.
Where else “zōmen” appears- moveκινούμεθαkinoumetha
shake
To stir; wag the head in mockery.
Where else “kinoumetha” appears- areἐσμένesmen
exist
To have existence, to be alive.
Where else “esmen” appears- poetsποιητῶνpoiētōn
poet
A person who composes verse, like the Greek writers.
Where else “poiētōn” appears- have saidεἰρήκασινeirēkasin
say
To express something in words to others.
Where else “eirēkasin” appears- offspring.’γένοςgenos
family
The ancestors one comes from.
Where else “genos” appears
Translation note
“For we are also his offspring” is from the Greek poet Aratus; the preceding phrase has been attributed to Epimenides.
The context
27to seek God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him; and yet he is not far from each one of us.
28 · This verse (above)
29Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine is like gold or silver or stone, a sculpture of human art and imagination.
To study Acts 17 in a group
1. What it says
What did the people of Berea do with what Paul said, and what came of it? (vv. 10-12)
2. What it means
In Athens, Paul starts from the altar "to an unknown god" (vv. 22-23). Why does he begin with something they already knew?
3. How I live it
When talking with someone who thinks differently, how can you start from what you share and listen with respect?