Acts 17:24

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;

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
God	θεὸς theos	G2316	figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
made	ποιήσας poiēsas	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
world	κόσμον kosmon	G2889	orderly arrangement · noun — accusative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
things	πάντα panta	G3956	all · adjective — accusative plural neuter
therein	αὐτῷ, autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
he	οὗτος houtos	G3778	the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
is	ὑπάρχων huparchōn	G5225	to begin under (quietly) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
Lord	κύριος kurios	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
heaven	οὐρανοῦ ouranou	G3772	the sky · noun — genitive singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
earth	γῆς gēs	G1093	soil · noun — genitive singular feminine
dwelleth	κατοικεῖ, katoikei	G2730	to house permanently · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
temples	ναοῖς naois	G3485	a fane · noun — dative plural masculine
hands	χειροποιήτοις cheiropoiētois	G5499	manufactured · adjective — dative plural masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have b…
Deuteronomy 10:14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
Acts 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Isaiah 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the plac…
2 Chronicles 6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this hous…
Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and…
Psalms 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
2 Chronicles 2:6 But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 17:22-31

We have here St. Paul's sermon at Athens. Divers sermons we have had, which the apostles preached to the Jews, or such Gentiles as had an acquaintance with and veneration for the Old Testament, and were worshippers of the true and living God; and all they had to do with them was to open and allege that Jesus is the Christ; but here we have a sermon to heathens, that worshipped false gods, and were without the true God in the world, and to them the scope of their discourse was quite different from what it was to the other. In the former case their business was to lead their hearers by prophecies and miracles to the knowledge of the Redeemer, and faith in him; in the latter it was to lead them…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 17:24

God that made the world and all . . . therein--The most profound philosophers of Greece were unable to conceive any real distinction between God and the universe. Thick darkness, therefore, behooved to rest on all their religious conceptions. To dissipate this, the apostle sets out with a sharp statement of the fact of creation as the central principle of all true religion--not less needed now, against the transcendental idealism of our day. seeing he is Lord--or Sovereign. of heaven and earth--holding in free and absolute subjection all the works of His hands; presiding in august royalty over them, as well as pervading them all as the principle of their being. How different this from th…

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Adam Clarke on Acts 17:24

God that made the world, etc. - Though the Epicureans held that the world was not made by God, but was the effect of a fortuitous concourse of atoms, yet this opinion was not popular; and the Stoics held the contrary: 1. St. Paul assumes, as an acknowledged truth, that there was a God who made the world and all things. 2. That this God could not be confined within temples made with hands, as he was the Lord or governor of heaven and earth. 3. That, by fair consequence, the gods whom they worshipped, which were shut up in their temples could not be this God; and they must be less than the places in which they were contained. This was a strong, decisive stroke against the whole system of the G…

The Church Fathers

Most instructively, therefore, says Paul in the Acts of the Apostles: "The God that made the world, and all things in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped by men's hands, as if He needed anything; seeing that it is He Himself that giveth to all breath, and life, and all things."
— Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 5

"God that made the world and all things therein, He being Lord of heaven and earth" - for, that they may not imagine Him to be one of many, he presently sets them right on this point; adding, "dwelleth not in temples made with hands" - do you observe how, little by little, he brings in the philosophy? how he ridicules the heathen error?
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 38

For the Prophets everywhere affirm this, that to create is God's prerogative. Not as those affirm that another is Maker but not Lord, assuming that matter is uncreated. Here now he covertly affirms and establishes his own, while he overthrows their doctrine. "Dwelleth not in temples made with hands." For He does indeed dwell in temples, yet not in such, but in man's soul. He overthrows the corporeal worship. What then? Did He not dwell in the temple at Jerusalem? No indeed: but He wrought therein.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 38

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Areopagus — The Latin form of the Greek word rendered “Mars’ hill.” But it denotes also the council or court of justice which met in the open air on the hill. It was a rocky height to the west of the Acropolis…
Heaven — (1.) Definitions. The phrase “heaven and earth” is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament,…
Mars Hill — The Areopagus or rocky hill in Athens, north-west of the Acropolis, where the Athenian supreme tribunal and court of morals was held. From some part of this hill Paul delivered the address recorded…
Paul — =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy “for use in the Gentile world,” as “Saul” would be…
Athens · A city of Greece — A city of Greece
Creation · Exhibits: God as the sole object of worship — Exhibits: God as the sole object of worship
Gentiles · UNCLASSIFIED SCIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCIPTURES RELATING TO
Mars’ Hill · A hill in Athens — A hill in Athens
Religion · NATURAL — NATURAL

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Acts 17:24

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 17:22-31

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 17:24

Adam Clarke on Acts 17:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 17:24

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 17:22-31

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 17:24

Adam Clarke on Acts 17:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Acts 17:24

John Calvin on Acts 17:22-25

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 17:22-31