Bible Strands
Acts 17:16
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul remains in Athens after his escorts depart, waiting for Silas and Timothy to arrive while observing the city's religious landscape.
The words — ἐκδεχομένου (ekdechomenou) translates literally as "waiting for," describing Paul's active anticipation of his companions.
The thread — This visceral reaction to pervasive idolatry parallels Moses’ anger at the golden calf (Exodus 32:19) and the psalmist’s grief over neglected law (Psalms 119:136, 119:158).
Why it lands — The text records Paul’s spiritual disturbance at Athens’ idolatry, demanding readers acknowledge the concrete reality of cultural compromise and the necessity of faithful engagement.
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
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Cross-references
- Psalms 119:158 I look on the faithless with loathing because they do not keep Your word.
- Exodus 32:19 As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.
- Psalms 119:136 My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
- 2 Peter 2:7 and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless
- Job 32:18 For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me.
- Jeremiah 20:9 If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
- Micah 3:8 As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, with justice and courage, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.
- Mark 3:5 Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.
- 1 Kings 19:10 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
- 1 Kings 19:14 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”