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.
Original Language Analysis
ταῖς
G3588
ταῖς
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
3 of 19
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
ἐκδεχομένου
waited for
G1551
ἐκδεχομένου
waited for
Strong's:
G1551
Word #:
5 of 19
to accept from some source, i.e., (by implication) to await
αὐτῷ
him
G846
αὐτῷ
him
Strong's:
G846
Word #:
6 of 19
the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative g1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons
τοῦ
G3588
τοῦ
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
7 of 19
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
Παύλου
while Paul
G3972
Παύλου
while Paul
Strong's:
G3972
Word #:
8 of 19
(little; but remotely from a derivative of g3973, meaning the same); paulus, the name of a roman and of an apostle
παρωξύνετο
was stirred
G3947
παρωξύνετο
was stirred
Strong's:
G3947
Word #:
9 of 19
to sharpen alongside, i.e., (figuratively) to exasperate
τὸ
G3588
τὸ
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
10 of 19
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
πνεῦμα
spirit
G4151
πνεῦμα
spirit
Strong's:
G4151
Word #:
11 of 19
a current of air, i.e., breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e., (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital prin
αὐτῷ
him
G846
αὐτῷ
him
Strong's:
G846
Word #:
12 of 19
the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative g1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons
αὐτῷ
him
G846
αὐτῷ
him
Strong's:
G846
Word #:
14 of 19
the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative g1438) of the third person, and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons
θεωροῦντι
when he saw
G2334
θεωροῦντι
when he saw
Strong's:
G2334
Word #:
15 of 19
to be a spectator of, i.e., discern, (literally, figuratively (experience) or intensively (acknowledge))
Cross References
Psalms 119:158I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.Psalms 119:136Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.2 Peter 2:7And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:Jeremiah 20:9Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.Mark 3:5And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.Micah 3:8But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
Historical Context
Athens in AD 50-51 had long passed its political zenith but remained the philosophical capital of the Roman world. The Acropolis featured the Parthenon (dedicated to Athena), while the Agora contained altars to the Twelve Olympians, plus countless statues to gods, heroes, and deified abstractions. Pausanias later counted over 30,000 public statues. Paul encountered Epicurean and Stoic philosophers (v.18) in this context.
Questions for Reflection
- What modern 'idols' (wealth, status, ideology) should stir your spirit with the same grief Paul felt in Athens?
- How does Paul's emotional response to idolatry inform Christian engagement with intellectually sophisticated but spiritually bankrupt cultures?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
His spirit was stirred in him (παρωξύνετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ, parōxyneto to pneuma autou)—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.
Wholly given to idolatry (κατείδωλον, kateidōlon)—literally 'under idols' or 'full of idols.' Petronius said it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man. The city that produced Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had descended into religious syncretism. Paul's response models how gospel proclamation begins with grief over human rebellion, not intellectual admiration of pagan philosophy.