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Selected Verse: Acts 17:30 - King James
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Ac 17:30 |
King James |
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
the times of this ignorance God winked at--literally (and far better), "overlooked," that is, bore with, without interposing to punish it, otherwise than suffering the debasing tendency of such worship to develop itself (compare Act 14:16, and see on Rom 1:24, &c.).
but now--that a new light was risen upon the world.
commandeth--"That duty--all along lying upon man estranged from his Creator, but hitherto only silently recommending itself and little felt--is now peremptory."
all men every where to repent--(compare Col 1:6, Col 1:23; Tit 1:11) --a tacit allusion to the narrow precincts of favored Judaism, within which immediate and entire repentance was ever urged. The word "repentance" is here used (as in Luk 13:3, Luk 13:5; Luk 15:10) in its most comprehensive sense of "repentance unto life." |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
And the times of this ignorance - The long period when people were ignorant of the true God, and when they worshipped stocks and stones. Paul here refers to the times preceding the gospel.
God winked at - ὑπεριδὼν huperidōn. Overlooked; connived at; did not come forth to punish. In Act 14:16 it is expressed thus: "Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways" The sense is, he passed over those times without punishing them, as if he did not see them. For wise purposes he suffered them to walk in ignorance that there might be a fair experiment to show what people would do, and how much necessity there was for a revelation to instruct them in the true know edge of God. We are not to suppose that God regarded idolatry as innocent, or the crimes and vices to which idolatry led as of no importance; but their ignorance was a mitigating circumstance, and he suffered the nations to live without coming forth in direct judgment against them. Compare the notes on Act 3:17; Act 14:16.
But now commandeth - By the gospel, Luk 24:47.
All men - Not Jews only, who had been favored with special privileges, but all nations. The barrier was broken down, and the call to repentance was sent abroad into all the earth.
To repent - To exercise sorrow for their sins, and to forsake them. If God commands all people to repent, we may observe:
(1) That it is their duty to do it. There is no higher obligation than to obey the command of God.
(2) it can be done. God would not command an impossibility.
(3) it is binding on all. The rich, the learned, the great, the frivolous, are as much bound as the beggar and the slave.
(4) it must be done, or the soul lost. It is not safe to neglect a plain Law of God. It will not be well to die reflecting that we have all our life despised his commands.
(5) we should send the gospel to the pagan. God calls on the nations to repent, and to be saved. It is the duty of Christians to make known to them the command, and to invite them to the blessings of pardon and heaven. |
| The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917] |
Repent
Repentance is the translation of a (Greek, "metanoeō") "metanoia-metanoeo", which means "to have another mind," "to change the mind," and is used in the New Testament to indicate a change of mind in respect of sin, of God, and of self. This change of mind may, especially in the case of Christians who have fallen into sin, be preceded by sorrow (Co2 7:8-11) but sorrow for sin, though it may "work" repentance, is not repentance. The son in (Mat 21:28); (Mat 21:29) illustrates true repentance.
Saving faith:
(See Scofield) - (Heb 11:39)
includes and implies that change of mind which is called repentance. |
| Vincent's Word Studies, by Marvin R. Vincent [1886] |
Winked at (ὑπεριδὼν)
Only here in New Testament. Originally, to overlook; to suffer to pass unnoticed. So Rev., overlooked. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| The times of ignorance - What! does he object ignorance to the knowing Athenians? Yes, and they acknowledge it by this very altar. God overlooked - As one paraphrases, "The beams of his eye did in a manner shoot over it." He did not appear to take notice of them, by sending express messages to them as he did to the Jews. But now - This day, this hour, saith Paul, puts an end to the Divine forbearance, and brings either greater mercy or punishment. Now he commandeth all men every where to repent - There is a dignity and grandeur in this expression, becoming an ambassador from the King of heaven. And this universal demand of repentance declared universal guilt in the strongest manner, and admirably confronted the pride of the haughtiest Stoic of them all. At the same time it bore down the idle plea of fatality. For how could any one repent of doing what he could not but have done? |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
The times of this ignorance God winked at - He who has an indisputable right to demand the worship of all his creatures has mercifully overlooked those acts of idolatry which have disgraced the world and debased man; but now, as he has condescended to give a revelation of himself, he commands, as the sovereign, all men every where, over every part of his dominions, to repent, μετανοειν, to change their views, designs, and practices; because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness; and, as justice will then be done, no sinner, no persevering idolater, shall escape punishment.
The word ὑπεριδειν, which we translate, to wink at, signifies simply to look over; and seems to be here used in the sense of passing by, not particularly noticing it. So God overlooked, or passed by, the times of heathenish ignorance: as he had not given them the talent of Divine revelation, so he did not require the improvement of that talent; but now, as he had given them that revelation, he would no longer overlook, or pass by, their ignorance or its fruits. |
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.