Acts 17:22 Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.

◄ Acts 17:22 ►

New International Version
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.

New Living Translation
So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,

English Standard Version
So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.

Berean Literal Bible
And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, was saying, "Men, Athenians, I behold that in all things you are very religious.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;

New American Standard Bible
So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.

NASB 1995
So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.

NASB 1977
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.

Legacy Standard Bible
So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.

Amplified Bible
So Paul, standing in the center of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I observe [with every turn I make throughout the city] that you are very religious and devout in all respects.

Christian Standard Bible
Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect.

American Standard Version
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things, I perceive that ye are very religious.

Contemporary English Version
So Paul stood up in front of the council and said: People of Athens, I see that you are very religious.

English Revised Version
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are somewhat superstitious.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Paul stood in the middle of the court and said, "Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious.

Good News Translation
Paul stood up in front of the city council and said, "I see that in every way you Athenians are very religious.

International Standard Version
So Paul stood up in front of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way.

Majority Standard Bible
Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious.

NET Bible
So Paul stood before the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects.

New Heart English Bible
Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said, "You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

Weymouth New Testament
So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious.

World English Bible
Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that you are very religious in all things.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, said, “Men, Athenians, in all things I perceive you as over-religious;

Berean Literal Bible
And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, was saying, "Men, Athenians, I behold that in all things you are very religious.

Young's Literal Translation
And Paul, having stood in the midst of the Areopagus, said, 'Men, Athenians, in all things I perceive you as over-religious;

Smith's Literal Translation
And Paul having stood in the midst of Mars' hill, said, Men, Athenians, I see that in all things ye have a superstitious fear of divinity.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
But Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are rather superstitious.

New American Bible
Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: “You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious.

New Revised Standard Version
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
When Paul stood in the court at Ar-eop’a- gus, he said, Men of Athens, I see that above all things you are extravagant in the worship of idols.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And when Paulus arose in Arios-Pagos, he said, “Men, Athenians, I see that in all things you excel in the worship of daemons.”

NT Translations

Anderson New Testament
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars hill, and said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in all respects your reverence for demons excels that of other men.

Godbey New Testament
And Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, Athenian men, I perceive that in all things you are very religious.

Haweis New Testament
Then Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus said, Ye men of Athens, I observe that in all things ye are too much devoted to the worship of dæmons.

Mace New Testament
Then Paul being plac'd in the middle of the Areopagus, said thus, "I observe, O Athenians, that you are in a manner too devout.

Weymouth New Testament
So Paul, taking his stand in the centre of the Areopagus, spoke as follows: "Men of Athens, I perceive that you are in every respect remarkably religious.

Worrell New Testament
And Paul, having taken his stand in the midst of Mars Hill, said, "Men of Athens, in all respects I observe that ye are more than usually regardful of the deities;

Worsley New Testament
Then Paul stood up in the midst of the Areopagus and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that you are indeed over-much religious:

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Paul Before the Areopagus
21Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas. 22Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Isaiah 44:19-20
And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” / He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

Jeremiah 10:3-5
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman. / They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter. / Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”

1 Corinthians 8:4-6
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. / For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), / yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

Romans 1:19-23
For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. / For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. / For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. ...

Deuteronomy 4:28
And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

Psalm 115:4-8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; ...

1 Corinthians 10:19-20
Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? / No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Isaiah 40:18-20
To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him? / To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? / One lacking such an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

Exodus 20:3-5
You shall have no other gods before Me. / You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. / You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Psalm 135:15-18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. ...

1 Kings 18:21
Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.

2 Kings 17:29-31
Nevertheless, the people of each nation continued to make their own gods in the cities where they had settled, and they set them up in the shrines that the people of Samaria had made on the high places. / The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, / the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim.

Isaiah 46:5-7
To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike? / They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship. / They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.

1 Thessalonians 1:9
For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

Jeremiah 2:11-13
Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols. / Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD. / “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Treasury of Scripture

Then Paul stood in the middle of Mars' hill, and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.

Mars'-hill.

Acts 17:19
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

I perceive.

Acts 17:16
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

Acts 19:35
And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?

Acts 25:19
But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.

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Areopagus Are-Op'agus Athenians Athens Centre Demon Fear Feet Follows Gods Hill Mars Meeting Middle Midst Observe Overmuch Paul Perceive Religious Respect Respects Stand Standing Stood Way Worship

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Areopagus Are-Op'agus Athenians Athens Centre Demon Fear Feet Follows Gods Hill Mars Meeting Middle Midst Observe Overmuch Paul Perceive Religious Respect Respects Stand Standing Stood Way Worship

Acts 17

1. Paul preaches at Thessalonica, where some believe,
5. and others persecute him.
10. He is sent to Berea, and preaches there.
13. Being persecuted by Jews from Thessalonica,
16. he comes to Athens, and disputes and preaches the living God, to them unknown;
32. whereby, though some mock, many are converted unto Christ.

Berean Study Bible

Then Paul stood up
The phrase "Then Paul stood up" signifies a moment of boldness and readiness to proclaim the Gospel. The Greek word for "stood up" is "ἑστηκὼς" (hestēkōs), which implies a firm and deliberate action. Paul, empowered by the Holy Spirit, takes a stand in a place of intellectual and philosophical debate. This act of standing is symbolic of the Christian call to be unashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16) and to be ready to give an answer for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15).

in the meeting of the Areopagus
The Areopagus was a prominent rock outcropping in Athens, serving as the meeting place for the council of elders, known as the Areopagites. This council was responsible for overseeing matters of religion and education. The historical context here is significant; Paul is engaging with the cultural and intellectual elite of Athens. The Areopagus was a place where new ideas were discussed, and Paul uses this opportunity to introduce the Athenians to the truth of the Gospel. This setting underscores the importance of engaging with culture and using wisdom to communicate the message of Christ effectively.

and said 'Men of Athens
Paul addresses his audience as "Men of Athens," showing respect and acknowledging their identity. The Greek term "Ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι" (Andres Athēnaioi) is a formal address, indicating Paul's awareness of his audience's cultural and intellectual background. This approach reflects the Christian principle of being "all things to all people" (1 Corinthians 9:22) to win them to Christ. By recognizing their identity, Paul builds a bridge for communication, demonstrating the importance of understanding and respecting the context in which we share the Gospel.

I see that in every way you are very religious
The phrase "I see that in every way you are very religious" is both an observation and a strategic entry point for Paul's message. The Greek word for "religious" is "δεισιδαιμονεστέρους" (deisidaimonesterous), which can mean devout or superstitious. Paul acknowledges their religiosity, which is evident in their numerous altars and temples. This acknowledgment serves as a starting point for Paul to introduce the Athenians to the "unknown god" they worship without knowing (Acts 17:23). It highlights the human tendency to seek the divine and the Christian belief that this innate longing is fulfilled in Christ. Paul's approach teaches us to find common ground with others as a means to share the Gospel, recognizing that all people have a spiritual hunger that only God can satisfy.

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 the strange disputant, may well have been irresistible. As the Apostle stood there, he looked from the slight elevation on the temple of the Eumenides below him, that of Theseus to the east, and facing him on the Acropolis, the Parthenon. On the height of that hill stood the colossal bronze statue of Athena as the tutelary goddess of her beloved Athens, below and all around him were statues and altars. The city was "very full of idols."

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 22. - And for then, A.V.; the Areopagus for Mars hill, A.V.; in all things I perceive that for I perceive that in all things, A.V.; somewhat for too, A.V. In the midst is simply a local description. He stood in the midst of the excavated quadrangle, while his hearers probably sat on the scats all round. Ye men of Athena. The Demosthenes of the Church uses the identical address - Ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι ( which the great orator used in his stirring political speeches to the Athenian people. Somewhat superstitious. There is a difference of opinion among commentators whether these words imply praise or blame. Chrysostom, followed by many others, takes it as said in the way of encomium, and understands the word δεισιδαιμονεστέρους ασ equivalent to εὐλαβεστέρους, very religious, more than commonly religious. And so Bishop Jacobson ('Speaker's Commentary'), who observes that the substantive δεισδαιμονία is used five times by Josephus, and always in the sense of "religion," or "piety." On the other hand, the Vulgate (superstitiosiores), the English Versions, Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, etc., take the word in its most common classical sense of "superstitious;" and it weighs for something towards determining St. Luke's use of the word that Plutarch uses δεισιδαιμονία always in a bad sense, of superstition, as in his life of Alexander and elsewhere, and in his tract 'De Superstitione' (Δεισιδαιμονία). Perhaps the conclusion is that St. Paul, having his spirit stirred by seeing the city full of idols, determined to attack that spirit in the Athenian people which led to so much idolatry; which he did in the speech which follows. But, acting with his usual wisdom, he used an inoffensive term at the outset of his speech. He could not mean to praise them for that δεισιδαιμονία which it was the whole object of his sermon to condemn. Josephus ('Contr. Apion.,' 1:12) calls the Athenians τοὺς εὐσεβεστάτους τῶν Ἐλλήνων, the most religious of all Greeks (Howson).

Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

Then
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

Paul
Παῦλος (Paulos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3972: Paul, Paulus. Of Latin origin; Paulus, the name of a Roman and of an apostle.

stood up
Σταθεὶς (Statheis)
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2476: A prolonged form of a primary stao stah'-o; to stand, used in various applications.

before
μέσῳ (mesō)
Adjective - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3319: Middle, in the middle, between, in the midst of. From meta; middle (neuter) noun).

the
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Areopagus
Ἀρείου (Areiou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 697: From Ares and a derivative of pegnumi; rock of Ares, a place in Athens.

[and] said,
ἔφη (ephē)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5346: To say, declare. Properly, the same as the base of phos and phaino; to show or make known one's thoughts, i.e. Speak or say.

“Men
Ἄνδρες (Andres)
Noun - Vocative Masculine Plural
Strong's 435: A male human being; a man, husband. A primary word; a man.

[of] Athens,
Ἀθηναῖοι (Athēnaioi)
Adjective - Vocative Masculine Plural
Strong's 117: Athenian, belonging to Athens. From Athenai; an Athenoean or inhabitant of Athenae.

I see
θεωρῶ (theōrō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2334: From a derivative of theaomai; to be a spectator of, i.e. Discern, (experience) or intensively (acknowledge).

that
ὡς (hōs)
Adverb
Strong's 5613: Probably adverb of comparative from hos; which how, i.e. In that manner.

in
κατὰ (kata)
Preposition
Strong's 2596: A primary particle; down, in varied relations (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined).

every way
πάντα (panta)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

you [are]
ὑμᾶς (hymas)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

very religious.
δεισιδαιμονεστέρους (deisidaimonesterous)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural - Comparative
Strong's 1174: The compound of a derivative of the base of deilos and daimon; more religious than others.

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NT Apostles: Acts 17:22 Paul stood in the middle (Acts of the Apostles Ac)