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.
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;
- BSB 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.
- 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,
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 of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you.
- Gen 3:20The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living.
- Mal 2:10Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
- Rom 5:12–19Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
- 1 Cor 15:22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
- 1 Cor 15:47The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven.
- Job 14:5Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his bounds that he can’t pass;
- Job 12:23He increases the nations, and he destroys them. He enlarges the nations, and he leads them captive.
- Ps 31:15My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.
- Gen 9:19These three were the sons of Noah, and from these, the whole earth was populated.
- Dan 11:35Some of those who are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed.
- Heb 2:3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation — which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard;
- Dan 11:27As for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
- Isa 14:31Howl, gate! Cry, city! You are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks.
- Isa 45:21Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it of old? Haven’t I, Yahweh? There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; There is no one besides me.
- Acts 15:18All of God’s works are known to him from eternity.’
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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.