Acts 17 · Verse 24

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;
Acts 17:24, King James Version

Acts 17:24 in other translations

BSBThe God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
WEBThe God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.
ASVThe God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
YLT‘God, who did make the world, and all things in it, this One, of heaven and of earth being Lord, in temples made with hands doth not dwell,
DARBYThe God who has made the world and all things which are in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands,
BBEThe God who made the earth and everything in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, is not housed in buildings made with hands;
WebsterGod that made the world, and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

What does Acts 17:24 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 17:24-25
24-25. 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 the blind Force or Fate to which all creatures were regarded as in bondage! dwelleth not in temples made with hands--This thought, so familiar to Jewish ears (1Ki 8:27; Is 66:1, 2; Ac 7:48), and so elementary to Christians, would serve only more sharply to define to his heathen audience the spirituality of that living, personal God, whom he "announced" to them.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 24. God that made the world. The main object of this discourse of Paul is to convince them of the folly of idolatry, Acts 17:29, and thus to lead them to repentance. For this purpose he commences with a statement of the true doctrine respecting God as the Creator of all things. We may observe here,

(1.) that he speaks here of God as the Creator of the world--thus opposing indirectly their opinions that there were many gods.

(2.) He speaks of him as the Creator of the world, and thus opposes the opinion that matter was eternal; that all things were controlled by fate; and that he could be confined to temples. The Epicureans held that matter was eternal, and that the world was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms. To this opinion Paul opposed the doctrine that all things were made by one God. Comp. Acts 14:15.

Seeing that, etc. Gr., "He being Lord of heaven and earth."

Lord of heaven and earth. Proprietor and Ruler of heaven and earth. It is highly absurd, therefore, to suppose that He who is present in heaven and in earth at the same time, and who rules over all, should be confined to a temple of an earthly structure, or dependent on man for anything.

Dwelleth not, etc. Acts 7:48.

(a) "that made the world" Acts 14:15 (b) "Lord of heaven" Mt 11:25 (c) "not in temples" Acts 7:48

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 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 Grecian idolatry.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 17:22-31

Here we have a sermon to heathens, who worshipped false gods, and were without the true God in the world; and to them the scope of the discourse was different from what the apostle preached to the Jews. In the latter case, his business was to lead his hearers by prophecies and miracles to the knowledge of the Redeemer, and faith in him; in the former, it was to lead them, by the common works of providence, to know…

Read the full comment on Acts 17:22-31 →

Acts 17:24 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ὁhoTheG3588
θεὸςtheosGodG2316
ὁhowhoG3588
ποιήσαςpoiēsashaving madeG4160
τὸνtontheG3588
κόσμονkosmonworldG2889
καὶkaiandG2532
πάνταpantaall thingsG3956
τὰtathat [are]G3588
ἐνeninG1722
αὐτῷ,autōit,G846
οὗτοςhoutosHeG3778
οὐρανοῦouranouof heavenG3772
καὶkaiandG2532
γῆςgēsearthG1093
ὑπάρχωνhuparchōnbeingG5225
κύριοςkuriosLordG2962
οὐκouknotG3756
ἐνeninG1722
χειροποιήτοιςcheiropoiētoishand-madeG5499
ναοῖςnaoistemplesG3485
κατοικεῖ,katoikeidwells,G2730

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 17:24

  • 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 builded?

  • 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 place of my rest?

  • 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 house which I have built!

  • 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 prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

  • 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 house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?

  • John 4:22-23

    Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

  • Revelation 20:11

    And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

  • Isaiah 42:5

    Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

  • Jeremiah 10:11

    Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
that made.
26-28; 4:24; 14:15; Ps 146:5; Isa 40:12,28; 45:18; Jer 10:11; 32:17
Zec 12:1; Joh 1:1; Heb 1:2; 3:4
seeing.
Ge 14:19,22; 2Ki 19:15; Ps 24:1; 115:16; 148:13; Jer 23:24; Da 4:35
Mt 5:34; 11:25; Lu 10:21; Re 20:11
dwelleth.
7:48; 1Ki 8:27; 2Ch 2:6; 6:18; Isa 66:1; Joh 4:22,23

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Acts 17:23

    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.

  • 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;

  • Acts 17:25

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

Read all of Acts 17

Acts 17:24 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El Dios que hizo el mundo y todas las cosas que en él hay, éste, como sea Señor del cielo y de la tierra, no habita en templos hechos de manos,
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Le Dieu qui a fait le monde et toutes les choses qui y sont, lui qui est le Seigneur du ciel et de la terre, n’habite pas dans des temples faits de main;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Der Gott, der die Welt gemacht hat und alles, was darinnen ist, dieser, indem er der Herr des Himmels und der Erde ist, wohnt nicht in Tempeln, die mit Händen gemacht sind,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Deus, qui fecit mundum, et omnia quæ in eo sunt, hic cæli et terræ cum sit Dominus, non in manufactis templis habitat,