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OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wyc SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL JOB YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Acts Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Acts 17 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) nor can he be repaired by any human hands and he doesn’t need to be fed. On the contrary, he’s the one who gives life and breath and who gives us everything that we need.
OET-LV nor is_being_healed by human hands, additionally_needing of_anything, he giving life, and breath, and the_ all _things to_all,
SR-GNT οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεται, προσδεόμενός τινος, αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν, καὶ πνοὴν, καὶ τὰ πάντα· ‡
(oude hupo ⱪeirōn anthrōpinōn therapeuetai, prosdeomenos tinos, autos didous pasi zōaʸn, kai pnoaʸn, kai ta panta;)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT Neither is he cared for by hands of men, needing anything, himself giving life and breath and all things to all.
UST He does not need to have people do anything for him. He is the one who makes people alive. He gives them everything they need.
BSB Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
BLB nor is He served by hands of men as needing anything, Himself giving to all life and breath and everything.
AICNT nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
OEB neither do human hands minister to his wants, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives, to all, life, and breath, and all things.
WEBBE He isn’t served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath and all things.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone.
LSV neither is He served by the hands of men—needing anything, He giving life to all, and breath, and all things;
FBV He doesn't need to be served by us as if he needed anything, since he is the source of all life for every living being.
TCNT neither is he served by [fn]the hands of men, as though he needed anything. Rather, he himself [fn]continually gives life and breath to all mankind.
17:25 the hands of men ¦ human hands CT
17:25 continually gives life and breath to all mankind ¦ gives to all mankind life, breath, and all things CT SCR
T4T He does not need to have anything made for him by people [MTY] {to have people [MTY] make [MTY] anything for him}, because everything that exists belongs to him. He is the one who causes ◄us (inc)/all people► to live and breathe, and he gives us all the things that we(inc) need.
LEB nor is he served by human hands as if he[fn] needed anything, because[fn] he himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything.
17:25 *Here “as if” is supplied as a component of the conditional adverbial participle (“needed”)
17:25 *Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“gives”) which is understood as causal
BBE And he is not dependent on the work of men's hands, as if he had need of anything, for he himself gives to all life and breath and all things;
Moff No Moff ACTs book available
Wymth Nor is He ministered to by human hands, as though He needed anything—but He Himself gives to all men life and breath and all things.
ASV neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
DRA Neither is he served with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing; seeing it is he who giveth to all life, and breath, and all things:
YLT neither by the hands of men is He served — needing anything, He giving to all life, and breath, and all things;
Drby nor is served by men's hands as needing something, himself giving to all life and breath and all things;
RV neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
Wbstr Neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
KJB-1769 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
(Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth/gives to all life, and breath, and all things; )
KJB-1611 [fn]Neither is worshipped with mens hands as though he needed any thing, seeing hee giueth to all, life and breath, and all things,
(Neither is worshipped with mens hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth/gives to all, life and breath, and all things,)
17:25 Psal.50.8.
Bshps Neither is worshipped with mens handes, as though he needed of any thing, seing he him selfe geueth life and breath to all, euery where.
(Neither is worshipped with mens hands, as though he needed of anything, seeing he himself giveth/gives life and breath to all, every where.)
Gnva Neither is worshipped with mens handes, as though he needed any thing, seeing hee giueth to all life and breath and all things,
(Neither is worshipped with mens hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth/gives to all life and breath and all things, )
Cvdl nether is he worshipped with mens handes, as though he had nede of eny man, seynge he himself geueth life and breth vnto all men euery where:
(nether is he worshipped with mens hands, as though he had need of any man, seeing he himself giveth/gives life and breth unto all men every where:)
TNT nether is worshipped with mennes hondes as though he neded of eny thinge seinge he him selfe geveth lyfe and breeth to all men every where
(nether is worshipped with mennes hands as though he neded of anything seeing he himself geveth life and breeth to all men every where )
Wyc nethir is worschipid bi mannus hoondis, nether hath nede of ony thing, for he yyueth lijf to alle men, and brethinge, and alle thingis;
(nethir is worschipid by man's hands, neither hath/has need of any thing, for he giveth/gives life to all men, and breathinge, and all things;)
Luth Sein wird auch nicht von Menschenhänden gepfleget, als der jemandes bedürfe, so er selber jedermann Leben und Odem allenthalben gibt.
(Sein becomes also not from Menschenhänden gepfleget, als the/of_the jemandes bedürfe, so he selber anyone life and Odem allenthalben gibt.)
ClVg nec manibus humanis colitur indigens aliquo, cum ipse det omnibus vitam, et inspirationem, et omnia:
(nec manibus humanis colitur indigens aliquo, when/with exactly_that/himself det to_all vitam, and inspirationem, and omnia: )
UGNT οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεται, προσδεόμενός τινος, αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν, καὶ πνοὴν, καὶ τὰ πάντα;
(oude hupo ⱪeirōn anthrōpinōn therapeuetai, prosdeomenos tinos, autos didous pasi zōaʸn, kai pnoaʸn, kai ta panta;)
SBL-GNT οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ⸀ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεται προσδεόμενός τινος, αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν ⸂καὶ τὰ⸃ πάντα·
(oude hupo ⱪeirōn ⸀anthrōpinōn therapeuetai prosdeomenos tinos, autos didous pasi zōaʸn kai pnoaʸn ⸂kai ta⸃ panta;)
TC-GNT οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν [fn]ἀνθρώπων θεραπεύεται, προσδεόμενός τινος, αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν [fn]κατὰ πάντα·
(oude hupo ⱪeirōn anthrōpōn therapeuetai, prosdeomenos tinos, autos didous pasi zōaʸn kai pnoaʸn kata panta; )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
17:16-34 In this chapter, we see Paul presented as a model witness for Christ, engaging the thinkers of his day and challenging them with the Christian message. Paul quoted writers his audience would be familiar with and showed the relevance of the gospel by dialoguing with them, critiquing their assumptions, and offering Jesus as a constructive alternative (see Col 1:28). Paul reminded these proud intellectuals that there is a living God to whom all human beings are answerable; that they will be judged by him through Jesus, whom God raised from the dead; and that they should therefore repent and put their faith in Jesus.
The Unknown God
When Paul spoke to the Areopagus, the “high council of the city” of Athens (Acts 17:19), he was speaking to people who did not share his faith in the God of Abraham and Moses who had revealed himself “many times and in many ways to [his] ancestors through the prophets” (Heb 1:1). The members of his audience had a very different definition of the divine. A host of divinities inhabited their world, and the common people retained much of their belief in the ancient gods. But many of the cultural elite of Athens no longer believed in the gods in any literal sense. Instead, they held to either a form of materialism (the physical is everything) or pantheism (the divine inhabits everything).
What they all shared in common was the absence of the idea that there is one true God who is Lord of all. Their myths told of the activities of various gods, but they did not have faith that the ultimate reality, God himself, could be known. Instead, they reasoned and discussed “the latest ideas,” hoping for a better understanding of the nature of things.
There were a wide variety of philosophical ideas current in Athens when Paul visited, but two main schools of thought dominated, Stoicism and Epicureanism (Acts 17:18).
Zeno of Citium (334~262 BC) founded Stoicism. Stoics studied nature’s laws and believed in the Logos, a pervasive organizing and sustaining force that gives all things their essential nature and so gives life and reason to humanity. The good life is one in which reason rules, and peace of mind and harmony with nature prevail. Many prominent statesmen were Stoics or influenced by Stoicism, including Cicero, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. Stoic ideas proved attractive to some Christians because of the similarities between the Stoic logos and the divine Logos (John 1:1-18), and between the idea of natural law and the law of God.
Those who followed Epicurus (341–270 BC) were empiricists; they relied upon sense experience (as opposed to reason) for knowledge. Epicureans were concerned with natural evidence and were unenthusiastic about mathematics. Their focus was ethics, the study of right behavior; they judged the value of an action or thing in terms of the pleasure or pain it brought. Epicurus saw belief in gods (meddling and powerful beings who terrified ordinary mortals) as a serious threat to tranquility. For him and his followers, neither the gods nor death (which is the end) should be feared.
When Paul spoke in that context, he used their own poets to proclaim things that they could barely comprehend: That the God who made everything is both personal and knowable; that he revealed himself clearly, historically, and definitively in Jesus Christ; that death is not followed by either the cessation of existence or the migration of the soul, but by judgment; and that the proof of all of this is the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
What was foolishness to most of the Greeks of Athens turns out to be the ultimate truth: God is knowable, and can be known through Jesus Christ.
Passages for Further Study
Ps 50:7-15; Isa 42:5-7; Acts 17:16-32; Rom 1:18-32; Col 1:15-23; 2:6-12; 1 Thes 1:9-10; Heb 1:1-4
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεται
by hands human /is_being/_healed
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “do hands of men care for him”
προσδεόμενός τινος
additionally_needing ˱of˲_anything
Alternate translation: “as if he needed anything”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων
by hands human
Paul is using one part of a person, the hands, to represent all of a person in the act of supposedly caring for God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “by people”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rpronouns
αὐτὸς διδοὺς
he giving
Paul is using the word himself for emphasis. Alternate translation: “because he himself gives”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
ζωὴν, καὶ πνοὴν
life and breath
The terms life and breath mean similar things. Paul is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: “existence itself”
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
πᾶσι
˱to˲_all
By all, Paul implicitly means “all people.” You can include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “to all people”