Acts 17:19-21
New English Translation
19 So they took Paul and[a] brought him to the Areopagus,[b] saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some surprising things[c] to our ears, so we want to know what they[d] mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time[e] in nothing else than telling[f] or listening to something new.)[g]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 17:19 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Acts 17:19 tn Or “to the council of the Areopagus.” See also the term in v. 22.sn The Areopagus has been traditionally understood as reference to a rocky hill near the Acropolis in Athens, although this place may well have been located in the marketplace at the foot of the hill (L&N 93.412; BDAG 129 s.v. ῎Αρειος πάγος). This term does not refer so much to the place, however, as to the advisory council of Athens known as the Areopagus, which dealt with ethical, cultural, and religious matters, including the supervision of education and controlling the many visiting lecturers. Thus it could be translated the council of the Areopagus. See also the term in v. 22.
- Acts 17:20 tn BDAG 684 s.v. ξενίζω 2 translates the substantival participle ξενίζοντα (xenizonta) as “astonishing things Ac 17:20.”
- Acts 17:20 tn Grk “these things,” but since the referent (“surprising things”) is so close, the repetition of “these things” sounds redundant in English, so the pronoun “they” was substituted in the translation.
- Acts 17:21 tn The imperfect verb ηὐκαίρουν (ēukairoun) has been translated as a customary or habitual imperfect.
- Acts 17:21 tn BDAG 406-7 s.v. εὐκαιρέω has “used to spend their time in nothing else than telling Ac 17:21.”
- Acts 17:21 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The reference to newness may be pejorative.
Acts 17:19-21
New International Version
19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus,(A) where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching(B) is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians(C) and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.