King James Version
Acts 17
34 verses with commentary
Uproar in Thessalonica
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia</strong>—These cities along the Via Egnatia (the major Roman highway connecting Asia to Rome) received no recorded ministry, illustrating Paul's selective strategy guided by the Spirit. The Greek verb <em>diodeuo</em> (διοδεύω) means "to travel through" without stopping—a significant omission suggesting divine direction toward strategic...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XVII.
(1) **Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia.**—The two cities were both on the great Roman roads known as the *Via Egnatia.* Amphipolis, formerly known as Ennea Hodoi, or the Nine Ways, was famous in the Peloponnesian War as the scene of the death of Brasidas, and had been made, under the Romans, the capital of *Macedonia prima.* It was thirty-three Roman miles from Phili...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
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KJV Study Commentary
Paul's custom was reasoning with Jews 'out of the scriptures' for 'three sabbath days,' showing his systematic biblical approach. The verb 'reasoned' (Greek 'dialegomai') indicates dialogue and explanation, not mere assertion. This pattern of Scripture-based persuasion models how to engage minds while trusting the Spirit to convince hearts.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Paul, as his manner was** **. . .**—What we read of as occurring in the Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:14-15), was, we may believe, now reproduced. That he was allowed to preach for three Sabbaths in succession, shows the respect commanded by his character as a Rabbi, and, it may be, by his earnest eloquence. Though he came with the marks of the scourge upon him, he was as fearless as ever, speak...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 14 Ac 14:1-7. Meeting with Similar Success and Similar Opposition at Iconium, Paul and Barnabas Flee for Their Lives to Lystra and Derbe, and Preach There.
"After this detailed account of Paul's labors at Pisidian Antioch, Luke subjoins only brief notices of his further labors, partly because from the nature of the case his discourses must have embraced nearly the same topics, and partly...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. whom: or, whom, said he, I preach
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KJV Study Commentary
Paul's method - 'opening and alleging' that Christ must suffer and rise, then proving 'that this Jesus... is Christ' - shows systematic theological argumentation. He first established Messiah's necessity to suffer (contrary to popular expectation), then proved Jesus fulfilled these prophecies. This logical progression from Scripture to Jesus models apologetic methodology.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Opening and alleging.**—The latter word is used in the sense of bringing forward proofs, and the two words imply an argument from the prophecies of the Messiah, like in kind to that at the Pisidian Antioch. In the intervals between the Sabbaths, the Apostle worked, as usual, for his livelihood, probably, of course, as a tent-maker (2Thessalonians 3:8).
**That Christ must needs have suffered....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And some of them believed</strong> (ἐπείσθησαν, <em>epeisthēsan</em>)—the verb means "were persuaded," indicating intellectual conviction through Paul's reasoning from Scripture. The response was mixed: "some" believed while others rejected, a pattern throughout Acts.<br><br><strong>Consorted with</strong> (προσεκληρώθησαν, <em>proseklērōthēsan</em>)—literally "were allotted to" or "joined...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **And some of them . . .**—Obviously but a few in comparison with the “great multitude of the Greek proselytes of the gate. The Thessalonian Church was predominantly Gentile, some, apparently, won from idolatry without passing through Judaism (1Thessalonians 1:9). Some good MSS., indeed, express this, by reading, *devout persons and Greeks.*
**Of the chief women not a few.**—These, like the wo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. Long time therefore abode they--**because in spite of opposition they were meeting with so much success.
**speaking boldly in the Lord--**rather, "in dependence on the Lord," that is, on their glorified Head.
**who gave testimony to the word of his grace--**a notable definition of the Gospel, whose whole burden is GRACE.
**and granted--**"granting," that is, who confirmed the Gospel by ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy</strong> (οἱ ἀπειθοῦντες Ἰουδαῖοι ζηλώσαντες)—The unbelieving Jews were gripped by <em>zēlos</em> (ζῆλος), a jealous rage at Paul's success in Thessalonica. Their theological opposition became mob violence, the pattern throughout Acts (13:45, 14:19, 18:12).<br><br><strong>Lewd fellows of the baser sort</strong> (ἀγοραίους ἄνδρας πονηρούς)—li...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **The Jews which believed not.**—The latter words are wanting in many MSS., as “filled with envy” are in others.
**Certain lewd fellows of the baser sort.**—The word “lewd” is used in its older sense, as meaning vile, worthless. At a still earlier stage of its history, as in Chaucer and the Vision of Piers Plowman,
[“How thou lernest the people,
The lered and the lewed, “] i. 2100.
it meant si...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
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KJV Study Commentary
The accusation that Paul and Silas 'turned the world upside down' inadvertently testified to the gospel's revolutionary power. The phrase captures Christianity's cultural disruption—its message challenged social, political, and religious status quo. The enemies' recognition of global impact ('world') shows the movement's rapid spread.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Unto the rulers of the city**.—The Greek term here, *politarchæ, *is a very peculiar one, and occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, nor, indeed, in any classical writer. Aristotle, whose *Politics* well-nigh exhausts the list of all known official titles in Greek cities, does not mention it, although he gives an analogous title (*Politophylakes*) as found at Larissa and elsewhere (*Pol. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. an assault made ... to stone them--**rather here, "an impetuous movement" with a view to stoning them: for in 2Co 11:25, Paul says, "Once I was stoned," and that was at Lystra, as expressly related in Ac 14:19. (Paley's remarks--Horæ Paulinæ--on this singular coincidence between the Epistle and the history are very striking).
**fled--**(See Mt 10:23).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Whom Jason hath received</strong>—The charge against Jason is harboring (ὑποδέδεκται, <em>hypodedektai</em>, 'given hospitality to') those accused of sedition. The verb carries legal weight: Jason became legally responsible for his guests' conduct.<br><br><strong>These all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar</strong>—The Greek τῶν δογμάτων Καίσαρος (<em>tōn dogmatōn Kaisaros</em>) refers ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **These all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar.**—Thessalonica, though a free city, was yet under the imperial government, and the Jews therefore appeal to the emperor’s decree, probably to the edict of Claudius (Acts 18:2), as at least showing the drift of the emperor’s policy, even though it was not strictly binding except in Rome and the *coloniæ.* This, however, might prove an insufficien...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. unto Lystra and Derbe--**the one some twenty miles to the south, the other some sixty miles to the east of Iconium, somewhere near the bases of what are called the Black Mountains and the roots of Mount Taurus; but their exact position has not yet been discovered.
Ac 14:8-21. At Lystra Paul Healing a Cripple, the People Are Scarce Restrained from Sacrificing to Them as Gods, but Afterwards, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city</strong>—The Greek <em>ἐτάραξαν</em> (etaraxan, "troubled") conveys agitation, stirring up turmoil, the same word used of Jesus troubling the water at Bethesda. The mob's accusation that Christians preached "another king" (v. 7) was politically explosive in a Roman colony where loyalty oaths to Caesar were mandatory.<br><br>The <stron...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And when they had taken security of Jason</strong> (λαβόντες τὸ ἱκανὸν παρὰ τοῦ Ἰάσονος)—literally 'having received the sufficient from Jason.' The Greek <em>to hikanon</em> refers to a bail bond or surety, likely a monetary pledge guaranteeing Paul and Silas would not return to disturb the peace. Jason became legally responsible for their conduct, placing his property and freedom at risk ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **And when they had taken security of Jason.**—The Greek noun, probably used as an equivalent for the Latin *satis accipere, *in common use in legal language, is a technical one (literally, *the sufficient sum*) for the bail which Jason was required to give for the good conduct of his guests, and for their readiness to meet any charge that might be brought against them. It is clear from 1Thess...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-10. there sat there a certain man ... a cripple from his mother's womb ... The same heard Paul speak--**in the open air and (Ac 14:11) to a crowd of people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 17
Chapter Outline
Paul at Thessalonica.(1-9)
The noble conduct of the Bereans.(10-15)
Paul at Athens.(16-21)
He preaches there.(22-31)
The scornful conduct of the Athenians.(32-34)
**Verses 1-9**
The drift and scope of Paul's preaching and arguing, was to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He must needs suffer for us, because he could not otherwise purchase our ...
Read full commentary →Paul in Berea
And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea</strong>—The Thessalonian believers demonstrated spiritual wisdom and protective love by swiftly evacuating Paul and Silas under cover of darkness. The Greek εὐθέως (eutheōs, "immediately") emphasizes the urgency; the mob violence instigated by jealous Jews (v. 5-9) made delay dangerous. Berea lay 50 miles southwest, off...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea.**—Timotheus apparently remained behind, partly to help the Thessalonian converts under their present trials, partly to be able to bring word to St. Paul as to their condition. At Berœa Paul and Silas were alone. The city lay to the south of Thessalonica, not far from Pella, on the banks of the Astræus, and still retains its name in the modern *K...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-10. there sat there a certain man ... a cripple from his mother's womb ... The same heard Paul speak--**in the open air and (Ac 14:11) to a crowd of people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-15**
The Jews in Berea applied seriously to the study of the word preached unto them. They not only heard Paul preach on the sabbath, but daily searched the Scriptures, and compared what they read with the facts related to them. The doctrine of Christ does not fear inquiry; advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will fully and fairly examine whether things are so o...
Read full commentary →These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily , whether those things were so.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so</strong>—Luke commends the Bereans' noble (εὐγενέστεροι) character: openness to Paul's message combined with rigorous Scriptural verification. <strong>Received the word with readiness</strong> shows eager receptivity, n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **These were more noble than those in Thessalonica.**—The word for “noble” (literally, *well-born, *as in 1Corinthians 1:26) had. like most words of like origin (such, *e.g., *as the Latin *ingenuus*)*, *a wide latitude of meaning. Here it stands for the generous, loyal temper which was ideally supposed to characterise those of noble origin. This was the quality which the Apostle and the hist...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8-10. there sat there a certain man ... a cripple from his mother's womb ... The same heard Paul speak--**in the open air and (Ac 14:11) to a crowd of people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-15**
The Jews in Berea applied seriously to the study of the word preached unto them. They not only heard Paul preach on the sabbath, but daily searched the Scriptures, and compared what they read with the facts related to them. The doctrine of Christ does not fear inquiry; advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will fully and fairly examine whether things are so o...
Read full commentary →Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore many of them believed</strong>—the Bereans' noble character (v.11) bore fruit in belief. Their Scripture-searching confirmed Paul's gospel, demonstrating that biblical investigation leads to faith, not away from it. <strong>Also of honourable women which were Greeks</strong> (Ἑλληνίδων γυναικῶν τῶν εὐσχημόνων)—Luke highlights high-status Greek women's conversions, a recurring pat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Therefore many of them believed.**—The narrator dwells with satisfaction on the fact that at Berœa there were many Jewish as well as Gentile converts. Among the latter there were, as at Thessalonica, women of the upper class.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-13. in the speech of Lycaonia--**whether a corruption of the Greek tongue, which was well enough understood in this region, or the remains of some older tongue, is not known.
**The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men--**the language of an unsophisticated people. But "that which was a superstition in Lycaonia, and for which the whole "creation" groaned, became a reality at Bethle...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-15**
The Jews in Berea applied seriously to the study of the word preached unto them. They not only heard Paul preach on the sabbath, but daily searched the Scriptures, and compared what they read with the facts related to them. The doctrine of Christ does not fear inquiry; advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will fully and fairly examine whether things are so o...
Read full commentary →But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge</strong> (ἐγνώσαν, <em>egnōsan</em>)—The hostile Jewish opposition did not remain localized but actively pursued Paul's ministry. The verb indicates they "came to know" or "learned" that Paul was preaching in Berea, approximately 50 miles southwest of Thessalonica. This demonstrates the intensity of their opposition to the gospel.<br><br><strong>...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **They came thither also, and stirred up the people.**—To the unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica the conversions at Berœa were simply a cause of offence. It is apparently with reference to this that St. Paul says of them that “they please not God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles” (1Thessalonians 2:15).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-13. in the speech of Lycaonia--**whether a corruption of the Greek tongue, which was well enough understood in this region, or the remains of some older tongue, is not known.
**The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men--**the language of an unsophisticated people. But "that which was a superstition in Lycaonia, and for which the whole "creation" groaned, became a reality at Bethle...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-15**
The Jews in Berea applied seriously to the study of the word preached unto them. They not only heard Paul preach on the sabbath, but daily searched the Scriptures, and compared what they read with the facts related to them. The doctrine of Christ does not fear inquiry; advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will fully and fairly examine whether things are so o...
Read full commentary →And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul</strong>—The Berean believers acted with protective urgency (εὐθέως, <em>eutheōs</em>) when hostile Jews from Thessalonica arrived to stir up persecution (v. 13). This strategic withdrawal demonstrates biblical wisdom: courage doesn't require foolish exposure to danger when the mission can continue elsewhere.<br><br><strong>To go as it were ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **To go as it were to the sea.**—The English version conveys the impression that the movement was a feint in order to baffle the pursuers. Many of the better MSS., however, give “as far as the sea,” and this is probably the meaning even of the reading followed by the Authorised version. The absence of any mention of places between Berœa and Athens, (as, *e.g., *Amphipolis and Apollonia are me...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11-13. in the speech of Lycaonia--**whether a corruption of the Greek tongue, which was well enough understood in this region, or the remains of some older tongue, is not known.
**The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men--**the language of an unsophisticated people. But "that which was a superstition in Lycaonia, and for which the whole "creation" groaned, became a reality at Bethle...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-15**
The Jews in Berea applied seriously to the study of the word preached unto them. They not only heard Paul preach on the sabbath, but daily searched the Scriptures, and compared what they read with the facts related to them. The doctrine of Christ does not fear inquiry; advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will fully and fairly examine whether things are so o...
Read full commentary →And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed , they departed.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens</strong>—Paul's escorts from Berea delivered him to Athens, the intellectual capital of the ancient world, city of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates. The verb <em>kathistēmi</em> (καθίστημι, "to bring down, conduct") suggests careful guidance to safety after the violent opposition in Berea (v. 13).<br><br><strong>Receiving a commandment unt...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-18. when ... Barnabas and Paul heard--**Barnabas is put first here, apparently as having been styled the "Jupiter" of the company.
**they rent their clothes and ran in--**rather (according to the true reading), "ran forth."
**among the people, crying out ... Sirs, why do ye these things?--**This was something more than that abhorrence of idolatry which took possession of the Jews as a nat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-15**
The Jews in Berea applied seriously to the study of the word preached unto them. They not only heard Paul preach on the sabbath, but daily searched the Scriptures, and compared what they read with the facts related to them. The doctrine of Christ does not fear inquiry; advocates for his cause desire no more than that people will fully and fairly examine whether things are so o...
Read full commentary →Paul in Athens
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. wholly: or, full of idols
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>His spirit was stirred in him</strong> (παρωξύνετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ, <em>parōxyneto to pneuma autou</em>)—Paul experienced deep provocation, the same Greek root giving us 'paroxysm.' This wasn't mere annoyance but righteous grief over spiritual adultery. Athens, the intellectual crown of classical civilization, was a theological catastrophe.<br><br><strong>Wholly given to idolatry</strong> ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **His spirit was stirred** **in him.**—The verb is the root of the noun from which we get our “paroxysm,” and which is translated by “sharp contention” in Acts 15:39. Athens, glorying now, as it had done in the days of Sophocles (*Œdip. Col.* 1008), in its devotion to the gods, presented to him, even after seeing Tarsus and Antioch, a new aspect. The city was “full of idols;” Hermes-busts at ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-18. when ... Barnabas and Paul heard--**Barnabas is put first here, apparently as having been styled the "Jupiter" of the company.
**they rent their clothes and ran in--**rather (according to the true reading), "ran forth."
**among the people, crying out ... Sirs, why do ye these things?--**This was something more than that abhorrence of idolatry which took possession of the Jews as a nat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-21**
Athens was then famed for polite learning, philosophy, and the fine arts; but none are more childish and superstitious, more impious, or more credulous, than some persons, deemed eminent for learning and ability. It was wholly given to idolatry. The zealous advocate for the cause of Christ will be ready to plead for it in all companies, as occasion offers. Most of these learne...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews</strong>—Paul's pattern (διελέγετο, <em>dielegeto</em>) was reasoned discourse, not mere debate. This verb means "to reason through" or "discuss," the same approach used in Pisidian Antioch (13:14), Thessalonica (17:2), and later Corinth (18:4). Paul began where Scripture was honored.<br><br><strong>In the market daily</strong> (ἐν τῇ ἀγ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **And in the market daily.**—To teach in the synagogue, and to gather the devout persons, *i.e., *the proselytes to whom the Law had been a schoolmaster, leading them to Christ, was after the usual pattern of St. Paul’s work. The third mode of action, disputing in the market-place, the *agora, *which in every Greek city was the centre of its life, was a new experiment. He saw, we may believe,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-18. when ... Barnabas and Paul heard--**Barnabas is put first here, apparently as having been styled the "Jupiter" of the company.
**they rent their clothes and ran in--**rather (according to the true reading), "ran forth."
**among the people, crying out ... Sirs, why do ye these things?--**This was something more than that abhorrence of idolatry which took possession of the Jews as a nat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-21**
Athens was then famed for polite learning, philosophy, and the fine arts; but none are more childish and superstitious, more impious, or more credulous, than some persons, deemed eminent for learning and ability. It was wholly given to idolatry. The zealous advocate for the cause of Christ will be ready to plead for it in all companies, as occasion offers. Most of these learne...
Read full commentary →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. babbler: or, base fellow
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him</strong>—Paul engaged Athens' two dominant philosophical schools. The <em>Epicureans</em> (Ἐπικούρειοι) followed Epicurus (341-270 BC), denying divine providence and seeking pleasure as life's goal. The <em>Stoics</em> (Στωϊκοί) emphasized fate, duty, and pantheistic divine reason permeating nature. Both rejected b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks.**—The two schools were at this time the great representatives of Greek thought. The former took its name from its founder, Epicurus, who lived a long and tranquil life at Athens, from B.C. 342 to 270. As holding their meetings in a garden, which he had left b*y* his will in trust as a place of study for his disciples, they were som...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-18. when ... Barnabas and Paul heard--**Barnabas is put first here, apparently as having been styled the "Jupiter" of the company.
**they rent their clothes and ran in--**rather (according to the true reading), "ran forth."
**among the people, crying out ... Sirs, why do ye these things?--**This was something more than that abhorrence of idolatry which took possession of the Jews as a nat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-21**
Athens was then famed for polite learning, philosophy, and the fine arts; but none are more childish and superstitious, more impious, or more credulous, than some persons, deemed eminent for learning and ability. It was wholly given to idolatry. The zealous advocate for the cause of Christ will be ready to plead for it in all companies, as occasion offers. Most of these learne...
Read full commentary →And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? Areopagus: or, Mars-hill: it was the highest court in Athens
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus</strong> (Ἄρειον Πάγον, <em>Areion Pagon</em>)—literally "Hill of Ares" (Mars Hill), the supreme court of Athens that handled religious and philosophical matters. This was not an arrest but an invitation, though Luke's language suggests formality.<br><br><strong>May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?</strong> (καινὴ ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **They took him, and brought him unto Areopagus.**—The name may stand either for the Hill of Mars, simply as a locality, or for the Court which sat there, and was known as the Court of the Areopagus, and which, as the oldest and most revered tribunal in Athens, owing its origin to Athena, and connected with the story of Orestes and the worship of the propitiated *Erinnyes* (the Avengers) as t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-18. when ... Barnabas and Paul heard--**Barnabas is put first here, apparently as having been styled the "Jupiter" of the company.
**they rent their clothes and ran in--**rather (according to the true reading), "ran forth."
**among the people, crying out ... Sirs, why do ye these things?--**This was something more than that abhorrence of idolatry which took possession of the Jews as a nat...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-21**
Athens was then famed for polite learning, philosophy, and the fine arts; but none are more childish and superstitious, more impious, or more credulous, than some persons, deemed eminent for learning and ability. It was wholly given to idolatry. The zealous advocate for the cause of Christ will be ready to plead for it in all companies, as occasion offers. Most of these learne...
Read full commentary →For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean .
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou bringest certain strange things to our ears</strong> (ξενίζοντά τινα εἰσφέρεις εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν)—The verb <em>xenizonta</em> means "foreign," "alien," or "surprising." The Epicurean and Stoic philosophers found Paul's proclamation of Jesus and the resurrection (<em>anastasis</em>, v.18) utterly novel—not merely unfamiliar, but intellectually jarring to Greek philosophical categories...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Thou bringest certain strange things.**—The adjective stands for a Greek participle, *things that startle, *or *leave an impression of strangeness.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium--**Furious zeal that would travel so far to counteract the missionaries of the Cross!
**persuaded the people--**"the multitudes."
**and having stoned Paul--**(See on Ac 14:5). Barnabas they seem to have let alone; Paul, as the prominent actor and speaker, being the object of all their rage. The words seem to imply that it was the Jews wh...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-21**
Athens was then famed for polite learning, philosophy, and the fine arts; but none are more childish and superstitious, more impious, or more credulous, than some persons, deemed eminent for learning and ability. It was wholly given to idolatry. The zealous advocate for the cause of Christ will be ready to plead for it in all companies, as occasion offers. Most of these learne...
Read full commentary →(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.)
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else</strong>—Luke provides this parenthetical cultural observation to explain the Athenian response. The Greek phrase <em>εὐκαιροῦντες εἰς οὐδὲν ἕτερον</em> (eukairountes eis ouden heteron) literally means 'had leisure for nothing else,' highlighting how the Athenians devoted their abundant free time exclusiv...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **For** **all the Athenians and strangers.**—The restless inquisitiveness of the Athenian character had been all along proverbial. In words which St. Luke almost reproduces, Demosthenes (*Philipp.* i., p. 43) had reproached them with idling their time away in the *agora, *asking what news there was of Philip’s movements, or the action of their own envoys, when they ought to have been preparin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. as the disciples stood round about him--**sorrowing. So his labors here had not been in vain: "Disciples" had been gathered, who now rallied around the bleeding body. And one appears to have been gained on this occasion, of far more importance than all the rest--Timotheus. See on Ac 16:1-3. (It could scarcely have been at the subsequent visit, Ac 14:21, for the reason given in 2Ti 3:10, 11; ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-21**
Athens was then famed for polite learning, philosophy, and the fine arts; but none are more childish and superstitious, more impious, or more credulous, than some persons, deemed eminent for learning and ability. It was wholly given to idolatry. The zealous advocate for the cause of Christ will be ready to plead for it in all companies, as occasion offers. Most of these learne...
Read full commentary →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. Mars' hill: or, court of the Areopagites
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KJV Study Commentary
Paul's opening—'Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious'—shows cultural sensitivity. The Greek 'deisidaimon' could mean either 'very religious' or 'superstitious,' allowing positive hearing. His observation of their altar 'TO THE UNKNOWN GOD' provided bridge for gospel introduction, modeling contextualized evangelism.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill.**—Better, *Areopagus, *as before. The Court sat in the open air on benches forming three sides of a quadrangle. A short flight of sixteen steps, cut in the rock, led from the *agora* to the plateau where the Court held its sittings. If it was actually sitting at the time, the temptation to have recourse to it, if only to cause a sensation and terrify t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. and when they had preached ... to that city and had taught many--**rather, "had made many disciples" (Margin); but probably without suffering any persecution, as Derbe is not mentioned along with Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra (2Ti 3:11).
Ac 14:21-28. Paul and Barnabas Retrace Their Steps, Return to Antioch in Syria, and Thus Complete Their First Missionary Journey.
**21-22. they returned ....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →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. devotions: or, gods that ye worship
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.</strong> Paul's Mars Hill address (Areopagus sermon) reaches its pivotal moment. The Greek <em>sebasmata</em> (σεβάσματα, devotions/objects of worship) reveals Athens's religious syncretism—altars to every conceivable deity, including one marked <em>agnōstō theō</em> (ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ, 'to...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.**—Better, *I observe you as being in all things more fearful of the gods than others.* It is not easy to express the exact force of the Greek adjective. “Superstitious” is, perhaps, too strong on the side of blame; “devout,” on the side of praise. The word which the Athenians loved to use of themselves (*theosebês, *a worshipper of God...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. and when they had preached ... to that city and had taught many--**rather, "had made many disciples" (Margin); but probably without suffering any persecution, as Derbe is not mentioned along with Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra (2Ti 3:11).
Ac 14:21-28. Paul and Barnabas Retrace Their Steps, Return to Antioch in Syria, and Thus Complete Their First Missionary Journey.
**21-22. they returned ....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →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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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>God that made the world and all things therein</strong> (ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν κόσμον)—Paul's Areopagus address begins with divine transcendence. The verb <em>poiēsas</em> (made/created) echoes Genesis 1:1 in the Septuagint, establishing the God of Israel as Creator against Stoic pantheism and Epicurean deism. <strong>Lord of heaven and earth</strong> (κύριος ὑπάρχων οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς) assert...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **God that made the world . . .**—The masculine form of the pronoun and participles throughout the sentence presents an emphatic contrast to the neuter pronoun of the previous verse.
**Seeing that he is Lord.**—Better, *He, being Lord.*
**Dwelleth not in temples made with hands.**—We note with special interest the reproduction of the thought which the then persecutor had heard from the lips o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-24. when they had ordained them elders--**literally, "chosen by show of hands." But as that would imply that this was done by the apostles' own hands, many render the word, as in our version, "ordained." Still, as there is no evidence in the New Testament that the word had then lost its proper meaning, as this is beyond doubt its meaning in 2Co 8:19, and as there is indisputable evidence that...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing</strong>—Paul dismantles pagan anthropomorphism at Mars Hill. The Greek <em>therapeuō</em> (θεραπεύω) means 'to serve' or 'attend to,' carrying connotations of nursing the sick. Pagan temples housed idols requiring daily food offerings, ritual washing, and maintenance, as if deity needed human care. Paul declares God's c...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing.**—Literally, *as* *needing anything in addition.* The previous words had struck at a false theory of temples, this strikes at a false theory of worship. Men have to think of God as the supreme Giver, not as requiring anything at their hands but justice, mercy, and truth. Both Jewish and heathen writers had borne their wi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-24. when they had ordained them elders--**literally, "chosen by show of hands." But as that would imply that this was done by the apostles' own hands, many render the word, as in our version, "ordained." Still, as there is no evidence in the New Testament that the word had then lost its proper meaning, as this is beyond doubt its meaning in 2Co 8:19, and as there is indisputable evidence that...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →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;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And hath made of one blood all nations of men</strong> (ἐξ ἑνὸς αἵματος πᾶν ἔθνος, ex henos haimatos pan ethnos)—Paul declares the fundamental unity of humanity from a single origin. The Greek <em>ex henos</em> ('from one') affirms monogenesis, refuting both Greek theories of racial superiority and any hierarchy among nations. This devastates the Athenian pride in autochthony (belief they ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **And hath made of one blood all nations of men.**—Literally, *every nation.* The previous verses had given what we may venture to call St. Paul’s Philosophy of Religion. This gives his Philosophy of History. And the position was one which no Greek, above all, no Athenian, was likely to accept. For him the distinction between the Greek and the barbarian was radical and essential. The one was ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. when they had preached the word in Perga--**now doing what, for some reason, they had not done on their former visit, but probably with no visible fruit.
**they went down into Attaila--**a seaport on the Gulf of Pamphylia, drawing to itself the commerce of Egypt and Syria.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →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:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That they should seek the Lord</strong> (ζητέω τὸν κύριον, <em>zeteo ton kyrion</em>)—God's purpose in providentially ordering nations and their boundaries (v. 26) is soteriological: that humanity might <em>seek</em> Him. The verb implies earnest, diligent searching, not casual curiosity.<br><br><strong>If haply they might feel after him</strong> (εἰ ἄρα γε ψηλαφήσειαν αὐτόν, <em>ei ara ge...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him.**—The word for “feel after” expresses strictly the act of groping in the dark. From the Apostle’s point of view, anticipating in part the great *Theodikæa*—the vindication of the ways of God—in the Epistle to the Romans, the whole order of the world’s history was planned, as part of the education of mankind, waking long...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended--**(See on Ac 13:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
Paul's Mars Hill declaration - 'in him we live, and move, and have our being' - articulates God's immanent sustenance of creation. Quoting their own poet ('we are also his offspring') shows wise contextualization, using truth wherever found to point toward Christ. This speech models engaging philosophical audiences by connecting gospel truth to their cultural touchstones.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **For in him we live, and move, and have our being.**—Better, *we live, and are moved, and are.* Each of the verbs used has a definite philosophical significance. The first points to our animal life; the second—from which is derived the Greek word used by ethical writers for passions, such as fear, love, hate, and the like—not, as the English verb suggests, to man’s power of bodily motion in ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. when they had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, &c.--**As their call and mission had been solemn and formal, in the presence of and by the Church as well as the Holy Ghost, they dutifully, and no doubt with eager joy, convened the church and gave their report of "all that God had done with them," that is, by and for them.
**and how--**in part...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God</strong> (γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες τοῦ θεοῦ)—Paul quotes the pagan poet Aratus ('<em>genos</em>' = race, offspring) to establish common ground, then demolishes idolatry with its own logic. If humans, made in God's image, create art and complex designs, how can the Creator be <strong>like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's devic...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God.**—One consequence from the thought of son-ship is pressed home at once. If we are God’s offspring our conception of Him should mount upward from what is highest in ourselves, from our moral and spiritual nature, instead of passing downward to that which, being the creature of our hands, is below us. Substantially asserting the same truth, the t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28. there they abode long time--**"no little time." From the commencement of the mission till they left Antioch to go up to attend the council at Jerusalem, some four or five years elapsed; and as the missionary journey would probably occupy less than two years, the rest of the time would be the period of their stay at Antioch. (But see Chronological Table.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The times of this ignorance God winked at</strong> (τοὺς μὲν οὖν χρόνους τῆς ἀγνοίας ὑπεριδὼν ὁ θεός)—The verb <strong>winked at</strong> (ὑπεριδών, hyperidōn) means 'overlooked' or 'passed over,' not that God approved pagan idolatry but that He withheld immediate judgment during the pre-Christ era (Romans 3:25-26). <strong>Ignorance</strong> (ἀγνοία) acknowledges humanity's culpable unkno...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **And the times of this ignorance God winked at.**—Better, perhaps, *overlooked, *the English phrase, though vivid, being somewhat too familiar, and suggesting; strictly taken, not merely tolerance, but connivance and concurrence. The thought is one in which St. Paul manifestly found comfort. He sees in that ignorance a mitigation of the guilt, and therefore of the punishment due to the heath...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →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. hath given: or, offered faith
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He hath appointed a day</strong> (καθότι ἔστησεν ἡμέραν)—The perfect tense indicates God's fixed, immutable decree. History moves toward this predetermined moment of universal judgment. <strong>In the which he will judge the world in righteousness</strong> (ἐν ᾗ μέλλει κρίνειν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ)—judgment is future certainty ('will judge'), global in scope ('the world'), and mora...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Because he hath appointed a day.**—Here the speaker would seem, to both sets of hearers, to be falling back into popular superstition. Minos and Rhadamanthus, and Tartarus and the Elysian Fields,—these they had learnt to dismiss, as belonging to the childhood of the individual and of mankind,—
“Esse aliquid Manes et subterranea regna
Vix pueri credunt.”. . . .
[“Talk of our souls and realms...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 15 Ac 15:1-35. Council at Jerusalem to Decide on the Necessity of Circumcision for the Gentile Converts.
**1-2. certain men--**See the description of them in Ga 2:4.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 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 t...
Read full commentary →And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.
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KJV Study Commentary
The mixed response to resurrection - some mocked, others wanted to hear more, some believed - represents typical responses to the gospel. Resurrection remains the dividing line between acceptance and rejection of Christianity. The 'mocking' reveals how central Christian claims appear foolish to worldly wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18), yet this 'foolishness' saves those who believe.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **Some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again.**—The word “mocked” implies look and gesture, as well as words, of derision. (See Note on Acts 2:13.) We may venture to assume that the mockers were found chiefly among the Epicureans, and that the inquirers, perhaps putting off the inquiry to a “more convenient season,” were Stoics, who wished to hear more from a teacher with whom they...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 15 Ac 15:1-35. Council at Jerusalem to Decide on the Necessity of Circumcision for the Gentile Converts.
**1-2. certain men--**See the description of them in Ga 2:4.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-34**
The apostle was treated with more outward civility at Athens than in some other places; but none more despised his doctrine, or treated it with more indifference. Of all subjects, that which deserves the most attention gains the least. But those who scorn, will have to bear the consequences, and the word will never be useless. Some will be found, who cleave to the Lord, and li...
Read full commentary →So Paul departed from among them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So Paul departed from among them</strong>—After his Mars Hill address to the Areopagus, Paul left Athens (ἐξῆλθεν, <em>exēlthen</em>, 'went out') apparently without establishing a church or staying longer. The abrupt departure (ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν, <em>ek mesou autōn</em>, 'from the midst of them') contrasts with his typical pattern of extended ministry. Some scholars see this as discouragement...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-6. being brought on their way by the church--**a kind of official escort.
**they passed through Phenice--**(See on Ac 11:19).
**and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to the brethren--**As the converts in those parts were Jewish (Ac 11:19), their spirit contrasts favorably with that of others of their nation.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-34**
The apostle was treated with more outward civility at Athens than in some other places; but none more despised his doctrine, or treated it with more indifference. Of all subjects, that which deserves the most attention gains the least. But those who scorn, will have to bear the consequences, and the word will never be useless. Some will be found, who cleave to the Lord, and li...
Read full commentary →Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed</strong>—Despite Athens' overall resistance, some converts emerged. The verb <em>kollēthentes</em> (κολληθέντες) means 'joined closely, adhered to'—the same word used for marriage (Matthew 19:5) and for cleaving to the Lord (Acts 5:13, 10:28). These believers didn't merely assent intellectually; they attached themselves to Paul and the Chris...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **Certain men clave unto him.**—The word implies practically both companionship and conversion. There was an attractive power in the Apostle’s character that drew men unto him.
**Dionysius the Areopagite.**—As the constitution of the Court of the Areopagus required its members to have filled a high magisterial function, such as that of Archon, and to be above sixty, the convert must have been...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3-6. being brought on their way by the church--**a kind of official escort.
**they passed through Phenice--**(See on Ac 11:19).
**and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to the brethren--**As the converts in those parts were Jewish (Ac 11:19), their spirit contrasts favorably with that of others of their nation.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 32-34**
The apostle was treated with more outward civility at Athens than in some other places; but none more despised his doctrine, or treated it with more indifference. Of all subjects, that which deserves the most attention gains the least. But those who scorn, will have to bear the consequences, and the word will never be useless. Some will be found, who cleave to the Lord, and li...
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