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.
Parallel translations
- WEB He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings,
- KJV And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
- NKJV And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
- NASB and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
- NLT From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
From one man God made all nations and sovereignly set their times and boundaries.
Overview
Paul affirms the unity of the human race in one ancestor, undercutting Athenian ethnic pride. History and the rise and fall of nations are under God's sovereign appointment. This truth grounds both human equality before God and His providential rule over all peoples and times.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Deut 32:7–8Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you.
- Gen 3:20And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.
- Mal 2:10Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?
- Rom 5:12–19Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
- 1 Cor 15:22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
- 1 Cor 15:47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
- Job 14:5Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed,
- Job 12:23He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations, then disperses them.
- Ps 31:15My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.
- Gen 9:19These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.
- Dan 11:35Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
- Heb 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
- Dan 11:27And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
- Isa 14:31Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
- Isa 45:21Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.
- Acts 15:18that have been known for ages.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 17:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.