Acts 17:24–28
Paul in Athens: God needs no temples and is not far from anyone
Study it word by word24The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by hands,
25nor is he served by human hands, as though needing anything, since he himself gives to all life and breath and all things;
26and he made from one every nation of humanity to live on all the face of the earth, having determined appointed times and the boundaries of their dwelling,
27to seek God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him; and yet he is not far from each one of us.
28For in him we live and move and are, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’
In its context
22So Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said, “Men of Athens, I see how very religious you are in every way.
23For as I was passing through and observing your objects of worship, I found also an altar on which had been inscribed, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you.
…
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.
30So God, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now commands all people everywhere to change their minds,
Its words in the original
- θεὸςtheos· God, god
God. In the plural or in another sense, "gods".
- ποιήσαςpoiēsas· do, make
Do, make, produce.
- κόσμονkosmon· world
World: what God created; also humanity, and humanity living with its back turned to God.
- οὐρανοῦouranou· heaven, sky
Heaven: the sky and, above all, the place of God. "The heavens" is sometimes a respectful way of saying "God".
- γῆςgēs· earth, land
Earth: the ground, a country, or the whole world.
- ὑπάρχωνhyparchōn· be, exist
Be, exist, be present; "what one has", one's possessions.
- κύριοςkyrios· Lord, lord
Lord, master, owner. Said of God, the Lord; in Old Testament quotations it stands for the name YHWH.
- χειροποιήτοιςcheiropoiētois· made by hands
Made by human hands.
- ναοῖςnaois· sanctuary
Sanctuary: the house of God within the temple.
- κατοικεῖkatoikei· dwell, live
Dwell, live in a place, inhabit.
- χειρῶνcheirōn· hand
Hand.
- ἀνθρωπίνωνanthrōpinōn· human
Human; "in human terms", speaking as people do.
- θεραπεύεταιtherapeuetai· heal
Heal, cure; also serve, care for.
- προσδεόμενόςprosdeomenos· need besides
Need something more, need in addition.
- διδοὺςdidous· give
Give.
- ζωὴνzōēn· life
Life; the true life that God gives.
- πνοὴνpnoēn· breath, wind
Breath; a blowing, wind.
- ἑνὸςhenos· one
One.
- ἔθνοςethnos· nation
Nation, people; in the plural, often the peoples who are not Israel.
- ἀνθρώπωνanthrōpōn· human being, man
Human being, person, man (without distinguishing male or female).
- προσώπουprosōpou· face, presence
Face; also presence, appearance.
- ὁρίσαςhorisas· determine, appoint
Determine, appoint, designate; also mark off a boundary.
- προστεταγμένουςprostetagmenous· command
Order, command.
- καιροὺςkairous· time, right time
Time, the appointed moment.
- ὁροθεσίαςhorothesias· boundary
Boundary, fixed limit.
- κατοικίαςkatoikias· dwelling place
Dwelling place, place where one lives.
- ζητεῖνzētein· seek
Look for, seek; try to.
- ἄραara· then, so
So then, therefore.
- ψηλαφήσειανpsēlaphēseian· touch, handle
To touch, to handle.
- εὕροιενheuroien· find
Find; in the passive, turn out to be, be found to be so.
- μακρὰνmakran· long, far
Far off; long.
- ἑκάστουhekastou· each
Each, each one.
- ζῶμενzōmen· live
Live, be alive.
- κινούμεθαkinoumetha· move, shake
Move, set in motion; shake the head; stir up.
- ἐσμένesmen· be
Be, exist.
- ποιητῶνpoiētōn· doer, poet
Doer, maker: someone who puts something into practice; also a poet.
- εἰρήκασινeirēkasin· say
Say, speak; in the passive, "be called".
- γένοςgenos· kind, race
Kind, sort; also family, descendants, a people.