Acts 17:16

King James Version (KJV)

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

Translations

Acts 17:16 - Amplified Bible

Now while Paul was awaiting them at Athens, his spirit was grieved {and} roused to anger as he saw that the city was full of idols.

Acts 17:16 - American Standard Version

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he beheld the city full of idols.

Acts 17:16 - Bible in Basic English

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was troubled, for he saw all the town full of images of the gods.

Acts 17:16 - Darby Bible

But in Athens, while Paul was waiting for them, his spirit was painfully excited in him seeing the city given up to idolatry.

Acts 17:16 - English Standard Version

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

Acts 17:16 - King James Version

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

Acts 17:16 - La Biblia de las Americas

Mientras Pablo los esperaba en Atenas, su espìritu se enardecìa dentro de él al contemplar la ciudad llena de ìdolos.

Acts 17:16 - The Message

The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.

Acts 17:16 - New American Standard Bible

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.

Acts 17:16 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy

Mientras Pablo los esperaba en Atenas, su espìritu se enardecìa (se indignaba) dentro de él al contemplar la ciudad llena de ìdolos.

Acts 17:16 - World English Bible

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols.

Acts 17:16 - Young's Living Translation

and Paul waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, beholding the city wholly given to idolatry,

Acts 17:16 - Additional Comments

Athens was the world's most famous intellectual center of thinking. Many scholars would come to Athens to enjoy the mental stimulation of the Athenian learning and philosophy explorations. Paul, though bred a scholar, and an ingenious thinker, does not make this any of his business at Athens. He has called this a vain thing (Col 2:8, see also Eccl 12:12). Many people in our day study and become skilled at many things, like computers, drafting, the sciences, law, medicine, photography, etc. But that is in vain if it is the main thing. We need to remember that knowing God and His Word is the main and glorious area for in depth study. We each can be a scholar in a particular area, but we all must be a scholar in His Word.
The philosophers explored many different potential worldviews, even as they do today. They discuss various versions of reality. Yet, professing to be wise, they became fools (Rom 1:22) - there is only one correct worldview, one they didn't even consider. On their own, they can never come up with the correct view (1 Cor 1:21). God had to come tell us what truth is. And many don't want to hear it - it doesn't tickle their ears, maybe because it tells them they are sinners and are guilty before God.
Paul's purpose is not to explore the various worldviews, but to show them the correct worldview, and the errors in their views.
Questions a worldview must answer -
- Who am I?
- Where did I come from?
- Why am I here?
- Where am I going when I die?
Is our worldview correct? How do we get our worldview? All observation and judgment of facts are tainted by our prejudices (including science). Our worldview comes from the Bible. We are interested in, a) what it says -- or observation; b). what it means -- or interpretation; and, c) how to apply it -- or application. (Biblical Hermeneutics is the science of the interpretation of the Scriptures.) But how we do each of these is influenced by our prejudices. The more we study God's Word, the more our prejudices are aligned with God's wisdom and the true worldview.
There were more idols in Athens than all the rest of Greece put together. Anytime someone introduced a new god in Athens, they accepted the god, and built it an altar. There were almost as many Gods as men in Athens. This city continued to be given to idols, even years later when Christianity became the official religion of Rome. It remained that way until the city was destroyed by the Goths around 395 AD..
As Paul traveled the streets of the city, he saw how the city was overtaken by idols, and was very disturbed in his spirit. "Provoked" here is the same word as in Acts 15:39, meaning "great contention". What he saw was people lost, moving in a direction against the teachings of God. Jack Lup stood in Athens, staring at the same idols Paul stared at, questioning his own reactions to them compared to Paul's. How is our spirit stirred when we see things like this in our city? Have our hearts become hardened, where we don't notice it anymore, or do we notice and ignore it? Or, are our hearts stirred in the same way's Paul's was?
The large number of idols just shows man's yearning to find and worship God.

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