Acts 14:16 kjv
Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Acts 14:16 nkjv
who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.
Acts 14:16 niv
In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
Acts 14:16 esv
In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.
Acts 14:16 nlt
In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways,
Acts 14 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Rom 3:25 | whom God presented as a propitiation… because of his passing over former sins | God's forbearance of past sins before Christ |
| Rom 2:4 | Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience... | God's patience leading to repentance |
| Acts 17:30 | The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent | God overlooks past ignorance, calls to repent |
| Ps 81:11-12 | "But my people did not listen to my voice… So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts," | God's allowing Israel to walk in own counsel |
| Ps 147:19-20 | He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes… He has not dealt thus with any other nation | God revealed His word specifically to Israel |
| Deut 4:7-8 | For what great nation is there that has a god so near… or statutes so righteous | God's unique covenant and law for Israel |
| Rom 1:21-23 | they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man... | Humanity's turning from God to idolatry |
| Eph 2:11-12 | remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated… having no hope | Gentile's previous state without God |
| Col 1:21 | And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, | Past alienation of Gentiles |
| 1 Cor 1:21 | For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, | Humanity's inability to find God through intellect |
| Rom 1:28 | God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. | God giving humanity over to its chosen ways |
| 2 Pet 3:9 | The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise… but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish | God's patience for all to repent |
| Isa 49:6 | I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth | Future universal salvation for all nations |
| Luke 2:32 | a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel | Christ as light to the Gentiles |
| Acts 13:47 | "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." | Mission to the Gentiles as fulfillment |
| Rom 10:14-15 | How then will they call on him… unless they hear, and how are they to hear without someone preaching? | Necessity of preaching for salvation |
| Job 2:10 | "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. | God's sovereign allowance of difficulty |
| Ps 78:29 | So they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. | God allowing people's cravings/desires |
| Deut 32:8 | When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, | Divine ordering of nations |
| Mal 3:6 | "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." | God's unchanging nature and covenant faithfulness |
| Rev 15:4 | Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come | Future worship of God by all nations |
| Ps 9:20 | Put terror in them, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! | Reminding nations of their humanity |
Acts 14 verses
Acts 14 16 Meaning
Acts 14:16 indicates that God, in previous eras, permitted the Gentile nations to pursue their own self-chosen paths, specifically their diverse religious and moral ways, which often involved polytheism and idolatry. This does not imply divine approval but rather a period of divine forbearance and non-intervention, distinguishing His specific dealings with Israel from His general allowance for the rest of humanity, prior to the direct, widespread revelation of Christ and the Gospel.
Acts 14 16 Context
This verse is part of Paul's impromptu sermon to the inhabitants of Lystra. After Paul heals a man lame from birth, the local people, steeped in their pagan traditions, mistake Paul and Barnabas for Greek gods—Hermes and Zeus, respectively—and prepare to offer sacrifices to them. This act of idolatry is a significant crisis that prompts Paul's address. Verse 16 immediately follows Paul's urgent plea for the crowd to turn from these "vain things" (idols) to the living God. Historically and culturally, this incident highlights the deeply ingrained polytheism of the Greco-Roman world and the Jewish apostles' direct confrontation with such beliefs, emphasizing the monotheism of the Creator God. Paul's sermon subtly contrasts the true God, who gives "rains and fruitful seasons," with their impotent idols. The polemic is against polytheism and the worship of created beings or mythological figures, redirecting adoration solely to the true, living God who made everything.
Acts 14 16 Word analysis
- who (ὃς - hos): A relative pronoun, directly connecting this statement back to "the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them" in Acts 14:15. It emphasizes that this "allowance" in past generations was an act of the Creator God Himself, not a result of His absence or ignorance.
- in bygone generations (ἐν ταῖς παρῳχημέναις γενεαῖς - en tais parōchēmenais geneais): Literally "in the past generations" or "in generations that have passed by." This phrase demarcates a specific period in history—the pre-Christian era for Gentiles—prior to the widespread proclamation of the Gospel. It signals a temporal distinction in God's dealings with humanity, specifically separating it from the new era ushered in by Christ. It indicates a period when the general and specific revelation of God through Christ had not yet reached all nations.
- suffered (εἴασεν - eiasen): From the verb "εἴαω" (eiaō), meaning "to permit," "to allow," or "to let go." It implies God's non-interference or tolerance, rather than an active command or approval. It suggests a divine withdrawal of direct restraint or a specific mandate, allowing nations to follow their inclinations. This aligns with His character of patience, as seen elsewhere.
- all nations (πάντα τὰ ἔθνη - panta ta ethnē): This refers comprehensively to all non-Jewish peoples, emphasizing the Gentile world distinct from Israel. It highlights the universality of this prior divine allowance, where God did not specifically covenant with or mandate the Mosaic Law upon the Gentiles as He did with Israel. This group had varying forms of pagan worship, legal codes, and ethical frameworks.
- to walk (πορεύεσθαι - poreuesthai): An infinitive from "πορεύομαι" (poreuomai), meaning "to go," "to proceed," or "to conduct oneself." In biblical contexts, "to walk" metaphorically refers to one's conduct, way of life, or habitual behavior, particularly in a moral or religious sense. Here, it denotes their self-chosen spiritual and ethical trajectory.
- in their own ways (ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν - tais hodois autōn): "Their own paths." This signifies self-direction and adherence to their own religious systems, philosophical ideas, cultural customs, and moral codes. These "ways" were characterized by idolatry, polytheism, and varying degrees of ethical aberration from God's perfect will, though God also allowed common grace expressions like societal order and natural knowledge. It is a stark contrast to walking "in the ways of the Lord" (Ps 25:4).
Acts 14 16 Bonus section
This verse encapsulates the theological concept of "divine temporality" in salvation history, where God's active involvement and revelation unfold in distinct periods. It subtly prefaces the later and more detailed Pauline theology concerning the Gentiles' state of "ignorance" before Christ (Rom 1:18-32, Acts 17:30-31). While God allowed the nations to pursue their own ways, this does not absolve them of accountability, as His power and divine nature were clearly perceptible through creation, leaving them without excuse (Rom 1:20). The allowance also reflects God's non-coercive nature in allowing human freedom of choice, even to choose pathways away from Him. The transition from allowing nations to walk in "their own ways" to commanding "all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30) highlights the dramatic and universal implications of Christ's advent.
Acts 14 16 Commentary
Acts 14:16 provides a crucial theological statement about God's long-standing dealings with the Gentile world. Prior to the incarnation and the global mandate of the Gospel, God, in His infinite wisdom and forbearance, permitted non-Jewish nations to pursue paths of their own choosing, including their spiritual practices rooted in idolatry and polytheism. This "suffering" or "allowing" was not an endorsement of their ways but rather an exercise of divine patience and a strategic waiting for the "fullness of time" when He would intervene definitively through Christ. This allowance explains why there was no direct revelation like the Mosaic Law given to Gentiles, yet it implicitly affirms their continued accountability based on the general revelation available through creation (as explained in Acts 14:17). The verse also serves to underscore the profound shift occurring with the coming of Christ and the apostolic ministry: a new era of direct divine intervention and universal summons to repentance, contrasting the previous allowance.