Acts 17:23 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23

The worship of faith. "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." Christianity aggressive. Insufficiency of all forms of religion apart from true knowledge. The true philanthropy of the missionary spirit. I. THE WORLD 'S IGNORANCE OF GOD INCONSISTENT WITH ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP OF HIM . 1. Athens the representation of the moral helplessness of men without revelation. Knowledge which is ignorance. 2. The practical view of the Divine... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23

"The unknown God." For description of the statues and altars to various divinities with which Athens was crowded, see Conybeare and Howson, 'Life and Epistles of St. Paul,' vol. 1. pp. 415-417. "Roman satirists say, ' It was easier to find a god in Athens than a man.' Athenian religion ministered to art and amusement, and was entirely destitute of moral power. Taste and excitement alone were gratified. A religion which addresses itself only to the taste is as weak as one that appeals only... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23

Athenian religion. "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." The materials for an introduction are found in the following suggestive passage from F.D. Maurice:—"This language assumed that the Athenians were in search of God; that they were ignorantly worshipping him; that they had a sense of his being a Father; that they wanted some one living human image of him, to supplant those images of him which they had made for themselves This teaching was adapted to all that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23-32

The gospel's kindly encounter with novel foes. The opportunity now presented to Paul he must at once have recognized to be one of the grandest and most critical of his career. He was for a while separated from his two loved companions, and was permitted to face his work alone in the long-time metropolis of the world's learning, grace, and art. We are perhaps to understand that Paul somewhat sensitively felt his position to be one of a special kind of responsibility. It was certainly none... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Acts 17:23

For as I passed by - Greek: “For I, coming through, and seeing, etc.”And beheld - Diligently contemplated; attentively considered ἀναθεωρῶν anatheōrōn. The worship of an idolatrous people will be an object of intense and painful interest to a Christian.Your devotions - τὰ σεβάσματα ta sebasmata. Our word devotions refers to the “act of worship” - to prayers, praises, etc. The Greek word used here means properly any sacred thing; any object which is worshipped, or which is connected with... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Acts 17:23

Acts 17:23. As I passed by Or, passed along the streets of your city; and beheld your devotions Greek, τα σεβασματα υμων , the objects of your worship, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD Because Paul here tells the Athenians, that the true God was he whom they ignorantly worshipped under this title, some learned men have supposed that the altar he speaks of was raised to the God of the Jews; concerning whose power, in the destruction of the Egyptians and... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Acts 17:16-34

Paul in Athens (17:16-34)Athens was in the province of Achaia, the southern part of present-day Greece. It was the chief centre of learning in the Roman Empire, a place where philosophy, religion and politics were taught and discussed freely. When some local philosophers heard Paul preaching in the public places of the city, they invited him to give an account of his religion to the council of philosophers known as the Areopagus. This was an ancient council that exercised control over those who... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Acts 17:23

beheld . Greek. anatheoreo. App-133 . devotions = the objects of your worship. Greek. sebasma. Only here and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 . Compare sebomai. App-137 . altar . Greek. bomos. Only here. Add "also". with this, &c . = on (Greek. en) which had been inscribed. Greek. epigrapho. Only here, Mark 15:26 . Hebrews 8:10 ; Hebrews 10:16 , Revelation 21:12 . UNKNOWN . Greek. agnostos. Only here. For type see App-48 . Public or private calamities would suggest that some god whom they... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Acts 17:23

For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found an altar with the inscription TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you.Polytheism is here manifested in one of its most pitiful characteristics. Some poor worshiper, having placated all the gods that he knew, still felt no certainty or confidence, but went out and erected an altar to the god who was unknown. The proliferation of idols in Athens, coupled with the amazing example... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Acts 17:23

Acts 17:23. And beheld your devotions,— Σεβασματα ;—the objects, and instruments of your worship. This is the proper signification of the original, which has no English word exactly corresponding to it. (Comp. 2 Thessalonians 2:4.) Diogenes Laertius, in his life of Epimenides, gives us the following account of the inscription. He tells us, "that in the time of that philosopher, about 600 years before Christ, there was a terrible pestilence at Athens; and when none of the deities to whom they... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 17:23-32

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Acts 17:23

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Acts 17:23

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Acts 17:16-34

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Acts 17:23

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Acts 17:23

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Acts 17:23

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