Acts 17:16-34 Lesson 261

Acts 17:16-34
Lesson 261

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The philosophers of Mars' Hill.

The philosophers of Athens.
Painting by the Italian artist and architect Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483-1520).

Who were the -

Epicureans -
Epicureans were followers of the Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC). Epicurus believed that life was created by mere chance without divine intervention and that everything is made up of atoms, including us. He taught that when we die, the atoms scatter and form new objects. Therefore, there is no afterlife or any reason to prepare for it. Epicurus believed there were many gods, each living their own blissful lives' with scant interest in the affairs of man and caring little if we prayed to them. He taught that finding pleasure was more important than finding truth. Epicurus advised seeking out as much material happiness and sensual enjoyment as possible, especially when it came to food and self-indulgence.

Stoics -
Followers of the Hellenistic philosopher Zeno of Citium (335-263 BC). Zeno taught that we are merely a small part of nature, and happiness comes from living in harmony with it. Stoics believed that emotions are immaterial, and we should bear grief, disappointment, and joy with indifference. According to stoicism, we should shun materialism and seek logic and reason. The stoics' highest goal was discipline and self-sufficiency; without them, a person should consider suicide. Zeno believed in an afterlife but taught that when we die, our soul loses its individuality and becomes part of one universal soul.

Study Tip:

The Bible can be complex, so it helps to study more than one translation. As you read each lesson, scroll back and forth between the "King James Version" and the "New Living Translation" below.

Also, check the margin notes in blue and click on the links.

The Acts of the Apostles

The King James Bible

Acts 17:16-34
Paul in Athens

16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

18 Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

22 Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

33 So Paul departed from among them.

34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Margin notes:

"While Paul waited for them." (17:16) - Remember, as lesson 260 was ending, Paul summoned Silas and Timothy to join him (Acts 17:14-15).

"Athens." (17:16) - The Greek city of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pericles, Demosthenes, Sophocles, and Euripides. By Paul's time, Athens was ruled by Rome, and its glory had faded.  The city was still home to numerous universities, and students from around the ancient world came to study. Athens was the center of art, science, philosophy, and literature, but Greek culture was awash in idolatry. The city even got its name from the pagan goddess Athene. Unlike other cities, Paul was not able to establish a church in Athens.

"His spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." (17:16) - Paul was deeply distressed when he saw Athens worshipping idols. At the time of Paul's visit, Athens had over 30,000 statues honoring various pagan gods. The statues lined the streets and adorned the front of most buildings. It seemed there was a god for everything.

"Disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews." (17:17) - "He (Paul) reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue."

"Devout persons." (17:17) - These were Gentiles who believed in and worshipped the Jewish God.

"A setter forth of strange gods." (17:18) - "A teacher of strange gods."

"Areopagus." (17:19) - Areopagus is a 377 foot high, rocky, almost bare hill in Athens. It was also called "Mars Hill" or "Hill of Ares" after the god of war. Before Athens became democratic, the chief civil and religious authority over Athenians met on Areopagus Hill. This court was made up of city leaders and took the name Areopagus Court.  By Paul's time, the Areopagus Court had lost its governing power and was merely a board of advisors will little judicial authority.

"We would know." (17:20) - "We want to know." See 1 Corinthians 1:22.

"As I passed by, and beheld your devotions." (17:23) - "As I passed (through Athens) I saw your objects of worship."

"The unknown God." (17:23) - Greek's worshipped so many gods that the Roman satirist Petronius wrote it was "easier to find a god at Athens than a man." They were afraid they might overlook a god, so they built an altar to "the unknown God."

"Seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands." (17:24) - 1 Kings 8:27; Acts 7:48.

"He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." (17:25) - Isaiah 42:5.

"Hath made of one blood all nations of men." (17:26) - "(God) created from one man (Adam) all the people on earth."

"Hath determined the times before appointed." (17:26) - God decides when countries shall rise and fall.

"And the bounds of their habitation." (17:26) - God decides each country's boundaries and their range of influence (Deuteronomy 32:8).

"If haply they might feel after him." (17:27) - "If perhaps they might search for him."

"Your own poets have said." (17:28) - Paul is referring to the Greek didactic poet Aratus (312-245 BC).

"For we are also his offspring." (17:28) - This was written by Aratus about the pagan god Zeus.

"Graven by art and man's device." (17:29) - "Shaped by art and man's imagination."

"God winked." (17:30) - "God overlooked." See also Romans 1:24.

"He will judge the world in righteousness." (17:31) - Paul is quoting from Psalm 9:8, which tells us there will be a day of judgment.

"That man whom he hath ordained." (17:31) - Jesus Christ.

"Howbeit certain men clave unto him." (17:34) - "However, some men joined him (Paul)."

"Dionysius the Areopagite." (17:34) - Dionysius was a member of the Areopagus Court. We learn in this passage that he became a believer after hearing Paul speak. He does not appear anywhere else in the Bible, but some historians believe he studied in Athens and Helipolis, in Egypt and was famous for his literary works. Yet other scholars believe Dionysius became the bishop of the church in Athens.

"Damaris." (17:34) - Not much is known about Damaris.  The fact that she is mentioned could mean that she was a well-known woman in Athens. The archbishop of Constantinople, John Chrysostom (?? - AD 407), wrote that Damaris was married to Dionysius.

New Living Translation

Acts 17:16-34
Paul Preaches in Athens

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.

17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, "What's this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he's picked up?" Others said, "He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods."

19 Then they took him to the high council of the city. "Come and tell us about this new teaching," they said.

20 "You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it's all about."

21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: "Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,

23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: 'To an Unknown God.' This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I'm telling you about.

24 "He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples,

25 and human hands can't serve his needs-for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.

26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

27 "His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him-though he is not far from any one of us.

28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

29 And since this is true, we shouldn't think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

30 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead."

32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, "We want to hear more about this later."

33 That ended Paul's discussion with them,

34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. What does Paul mean by "the times of ignorance?" (17:30)

Make God a part of your life by studying His word.
Your Bible has more to teach than these lessons can cover.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. For Jews, the "times of ignorance" was the period before God revealed Himself and His laws. Through the prophets and the Old Testament, God forbid Jews from worshipping idols and pagan gods (Exodus 23:24), and they were judged harshly when they disobeyed. For Gentiles, unaware of this teaching, the "times of ignorance" ended when Jesus Christ revealed the truth to them. God judges people by what He has revealed to them. Before these revelations, God overlooked (winked at) idol worship by Gentiles. Since his revelations, He doesn't.

Application thought for the day:

Although the Epicureans are no longer with us, their "eat, drink and be merry"
philosophy still leads people astray. Believing there are no consequences, self-indulgence
becomes the religion of choice for many. To them, if there is a God, he will understand they
meant no harm. We all know people whose plan of salvation is to think about God later... if at all.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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