God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
Parallel translations
- WEB that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
- KJV That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
- NKJV so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
- NASB that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
- NLT “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.
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
God arranged all this so people would seek Him, though He is near to each of us.
Overview
God's ordering of history and place has a gracious purpose: to draw people to seek Him. Though humans grope after God in their fallenness, He is not distant but near. This nearness becomes saving reality only as the gospel reveals the God who has drawn near supremely in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 23:23–24“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”
- Deut 4:7For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?
- Acts 14:17Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
- Rom 1:20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
- Rom 2:4Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Ps 19:1–6For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
- Acts 15:17so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things
- Ps 139:1–13For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
- 1 Kgs 8:27But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
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 17:27 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.