Acts 17:26

17:26 From one man ¹  he made every nation of the human race ²  to inhabit the entire earth, ³  determining their set times ⁴  and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, ⁵ 

Acts 17:28-29

17:28 For in him we live and move about ⁶  and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ ⁷  17:29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity ⁸  is like gold or silver or stone, an image ⁹  made by human ¹⁰  skill ¹¹  and imagination. ¹² 

[17:26]  ¹ sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).

[17:26]  ² tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”

[17:26]  ³ tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”

[17:26]  ⁴ tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.

[17:26]  ⁵ tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.

[17:28]  ⁶ 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.’”

[17:28]  ⁷ 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.

[17:29]  ⁸ tn Or “the divine being.” BDAG 446 s.v. θεῖος 1.b has “divine being, divinity” here.

[17:29]  ⁹ tn Or “a likeness.” Again idolatry is directly attacked as an affront to God and a devaluation of him.

[17:29]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “by the skill and imagination of man,” but ἀνθρώπου (anqrwpou) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[17:29]  ¹¹ tn Or “craftsmanship” (cf. BDAG 1001 s.v. τέχνη).

[17:29]  ¹² tn Or “thought.” BDAG 336 s.v. ἐνθύμησις has “thought, reflection, idea” as the category of meaning here, but in terms of creativity (as in the context) the imaginative faculty is in view.