Acts 17 · Verse 25

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;
Acts 17:25, King James Version

Acts 17:25 in other translations

BSBNor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
WEBHe isn’t served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath and all things.
ASVneither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
YLTneither by the hands of men is He served--needing anything, He giving to all life, and breath, and all things;
DARBYnor is served by men's hands as needing something, himself giving to all life and breath and all things;
BBEAnd 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;
WebsterNeither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

What does Acts 17:25 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…

Read the full comment on Acts 17:24-25 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 25. Neither is worshipped with men's hands. The word here rendered worshipped--θεραπευεται--denotes to serve; to wait upon; and then to render religious service or homage. There is reference here, undoubtedly, to a notion prevalent among the heathen, that the gods were fed or nourished by the offerings made to them. The idea is prevalent among the Hindoos, that the sacrifices which are made, and which are offered in the temples, are consumed by the gods themselves. Perhaps, also, Paul had reference to the fact that so many persons were employed in their temples in serving them with their hands; that is, in preparing sacrifices and feasts in their honour. Paul affirms that the great Creator of all things cannot be thus dependent on his creatures for happiness; and consequently that that mode of worship must be highly absurd. The same idea occurs in Ps 50:10-12:
For every beast of the forest is mine;
And the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountain;
And the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry, I would not tell thee;
For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.


Seeing he giveth. Gr., He having given to all, etc.

Life. He is the Source of life; and therefore he cannot be dependent on that life which he has himself imparted.

And breath. The power of breathing, by which life is sustained. He not only originally gave life, but he gives it at each moment; he gives the power of drawing each breath by which life is supported. It is possible that the phrase "life and breath" may be the figure hendyades, by which one thing is expressed by two words. And it is highly probable that Paul here had reference to Gen 2:7: "And the LORD God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." The same idea occurs in Job 12:10:
In whose hand is the life (margin) of every living thing;
And the breath of all mankind.
And all things. All things necessary to sustain life. We may see here how dependent man is on God. There can be no more absolute dependence than that for every breath. How easy it would be for God to suspend our breathing! How incessant the care, how unceasing the providence by which, whether we sleep or wake --whether we remember or forget him--he heaves our chest, fills our lungs, restores the vitality of our blood, and infuses rigour into our frame! Comp. Rom 11:36.

(d) "needed anything" Ps 50:8 (e) "giveth to all life" Job 12:10, Zech 12:1 (f) "all things" Rom 11:36

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 25 Neither is worshiped with men's hands - This is an indirect stroke against making of images, and offering of sacrifices: he is not worshipped with human hands, as if he needed any thing, or required to be represented under a particular form or attitude; nor has he required victims for his support; for it is impossible that he should need any thing who himself gives being, form, and life, to all creatures. Giveth - life, and breath, and all things - These words are elegantly introduced by St. Paul: God gives life, because he is the fountain of it: he gives breath, the faculty of breathing or respiration, by which this life is preserved; and though breathing or respiration, be the act of the animal, yet the πνοην, the faculty of breathing, and extracting from the atmosphere what serves as a pabulum of life, is given by the influence of God, and the continued power thus to respire, and extract that pure oxygen gas which is so evident a support of animal life, is as much the continued gift of God as life itself is. But, as much more is necessary to keep the animal machine in a state of repair, God gives the τα παντα, all the other things which are requisite for this great and important purpose, that the end for which life was given may be fully answered. St. Paul also teaches that Divine worship is not enacted and established for God, but for the use of his creatures: he needs nothing that man can give him; for man has nothing but what he has received from the hand of his Maker.

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 17:25 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.

οὐδὲoudenorG3761
ὑπὸhupobyG5259
χειρῶνcheirōnhandsG5495
ἀνθρωπίνωνanthrōpinōnhumanG442
θεραπεύεταιtherapeuetaiis He servedG2323
προσδεόμενόςprosdeomenosas needingG4326
τινος,tinosanything,G5100
αὐτὸςautosHimselfG846
διδοὺςdidousgivingG1325
πᾶσινpasinto allG3956
ζωὴνzōēnlifeG2222
καὶkaiandG2532
πνοὴνpnoēnbreathG4157
καὶkaiandG2532
τὰtatheG3588
πάντα·pantaall;G3956

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

Cross references for Acts 17:25

  • Psalms 50:8-13

    I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. …

  • 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:

  • Genesis 2:7

    And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

  • Acts 17:28

    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.

  • Romans 11:35

    Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?

  • Job 33:4

    The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

  • Job 35:6-7

    If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?

  • Job 22:2

    Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?

  • Psalms 104:27-30

    These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

  • Job 12:10

    In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

  • 1 Timothy 6:17

    Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

  • Job 27:3

    All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
is.
Job 22:2; 35:6,7; Ps 16:2; 50:8-13; Jer 7:20-23; Am 5:21-23; Mt 9:13
seeing.
28; 14:17; Ge 2:7; Nu 16:22; 27:16; Job 12:10; 27:3; 33:4; 34:14
Ps 104:27-30; Isa 42:5; 57:16; Zec 12:1; Mt 5:45; Ro 11:35; 1Ti 6:17

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

Context

  • 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;

  • Acts 17:26

    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;

Read all of Acts 17

Acts 17:25 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ni es honrado con manos de hombres, necesitado de algo; pues él da á todos vida, y respiración, y todas las cosas;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et il n’est pas servi par des mains d’hommes, comme s’il avait besoin de quelque chose, lui qui donne à tous la vie et la respiration et toutes choses;
German
Elberfelder 1871		noch wird er von Menschenhänden bedient, als wenn er noch etwas bedürfe, da er selbst allen Leben und Odem und alles gibt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		nec manibus humanis colitur indigens aliquo, cum ipse det omnibus vitam, et inspirationem, et omnia: