Bible Strands
Acts 1:7
Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the gathered disciples immediately after they ask whether He will restore the kingdom to Israel at that time (Acts 1:6).
The words — γνῶναι (gnōnai), aorist infinitive of γινώσκω, "to know" — the verb Jesus withholds from them, framing the timing as outside their competence.
The thread — Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 state the same exclusion in even stronger terms: not even the Son knows the day or hour, only the Father. 1 Thessalonians 5:1 echoes the "times and seasons" phrase, suggesting the community already understood this boundary.
Why it lands — It tells the reader that the question "when?" is not the one they are equipped to answer, and that the task given instead (Acts 1:8) is the one they can actually do.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Cross-references
- Matthew 24:36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1 Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.
- Mark 13:32 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
- Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.
- Mark 10:40 But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
- Daniel 2:21 He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Ephesians 1:10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.
- Luke 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
- Matthew 20:23 “You will indeed drink My cup,” Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”
- Acts 17:26 From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.