Acts 17:27-28

17:27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around ¹  for him and find him, ²  though he is ³  not far from each one of us. 17:28 For in him we live and move about ⁴  and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ ⁵ 

Psalms 19:1-4

Psalm 19 ⁶ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; ⁷ 

the sky displays his handiwork. ⁸ 

19:2 Day after day it speaks out; ⁹ 

night after night it reveals his greatness. ¹⁰ 

19:3 There is no actual speech or word,

nor is its ¹¹  voice literally heard.

19:4 Yet its voice ¹²  echoes ¹³  throughout the earth;

its ¹⁴  words carry ¹⁵  to the distant horizon. ¹⁶ 

In the sky ¹⁷  he has pitched a tent for the sun. ¹⁸ 

Romans 1:19-20

1:19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, ¹⁹  because God has made it plain to them. 1:20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people ²⁰  are without excuse.

¹ tn See BDAG 1097-98 s.v. ψηλαφάω, which lists “touch, handle” and “to feel around for, grope for” as possible meanings.

² sn Perhaps grope around for him and find him. The pagans’ struggle to know God is the point here. Conscience alone is not good enough.

³ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

⁴ tn According to L&N 15.1, “A strictly literal translation of κινέω in Ac 17:28 might imply merely moving from one place to another. The meaning, however, is generalized movement and activity; therefore, it may be possible to translate κινούμεθα as ‘we come and go’ or ‘we move about’’ or even ‘we do what we do.’”

⁵ sn This quotation is from Aratus (ca. 310-245 b.c.), Phaenomena 5. Paul asserted a general relationship and accountability to God for all humanity.

⁶ sn Psalm 19. The psalmist praises God for his self-revelation in the heavens and in the Mosaic law. The psalmist concludes with a prayer, asking the Lord to keep him from sinning and to approve of his thoughts and words.

⁷ sn God’s glory refers here to his royal majesty and power.

⁸ tn Heb “and the work of his hands the sky declares.” The participles emphasize the ongoing testimony of the heavens/sky.

⁹ tn Heb “it gushes forth a word.” The “sky” (see v. 1b) is the subject of the verb. Though not literally speaking (see v. 3), it clearly reveals God’s royal majesty. The sun’s splendor and its movement across the sky is in view (see vv. 4-6).

¹⁰ tn Heb “it [i.e., the sky] declares knowledge,” i.e., knowledge about God’s royal majesty and power (see v. 1). This apparently refers to the splendor and movements of the stars. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 2, like the participles in the preceding verse, combine with the temporal phrases (“day after day” and “night after night”) to emphasize the ongoing testimony of the sky.

¹¹ tn Heb “their.” The antecedent of the plural pronoun is “heavens” (v. 1).

¹² tc The MT reads, “their measuring line” (קוּם, qum). The noun קַו (qav, “measuring line”) makes no sense in this context. The reading קוֹלָם (qolam, “their voice”) which is supported by the LXX, is preferable.

¹³ tn Heb “goes out,” or “proceeds forth.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “their” (see the note on the word “its” in v. 3).

¹⁵ tn The verb is supplied in the translation. The Hebrew text has no verb; יָצָא (yatsa’, “goes out”) is understood by ellipsis.

¹⁶ tn Heb “to the end of the world.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “in them” (i.e., the heavens).

¹⁸ sn He has pitched a tent for the sun. The personified sun emerges from this “tent” in order to make its daytime journey across the sky. So the “tent” must refer metaphorically to the place where the sun goes to rest during the night.

¹⁹ tn Grk “is manifest to/in them.”

²⁰ tn Grk “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.