Acts 14:17

17 And yet he did not leave himself without witness [by] doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [you] with food and your hearts with gladness."

Acts 14:17 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 14:17

Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness
Of his kindness and goodness to them, during this long interval and period of time; for they had not the written law, yet they were not destitute of the law of nature; and had, besides, many instances of providential goodness, by which they might have known God: and should have been thankful to him, and glorified him as God, and not have worshipped the idols of their own hands; the goodness of God should have led them to repentance, and not have been abused to so many wicked purposes as it had been:

in that he did good;
in a providential way, to persons very undeserving of it, of which some particular instances follow:

and gave us rain from heaven,
which none of the gods of the Gentiles could, do, ( Jeremiah 14:22 ) . So (Mymvg xtpm) , "the key of rains", is by the Jews F1 said to be one of the keys which God has in his own hands, and which he does not commit to any other: and a wonderful blessing is this to mankind, and which God gives to the just and to the unjust, and did give to the ignorant and idolatrous Gentiles. Beza's most ancient copy, and four other ancient copies of his, and some others, read "you", instead of "us"; which reading seems most agreeable:

and fruitful seasons;
spring, summer, harvest, and autumn, at which several times, different fruits of the earth appear:

filling our hearts with food and gladness;
giving a sufficiency of food, and even an abundance of it, and that for pleasure and delight, as well as for support and refreshment: the Syriac version reads, "their hearts"; some copies read, "your hearts".


FOOTNOTES:

F1 Targum Jerus. in Gen. xxx. 22. & Jon. in Deut. xxviii. 12.

Acts 14:17 In-Context

15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these [things]? We also are men with the same nature as you, proclaiming the good news [that] you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things [that are] in them--
16 who in generations that are past permitted all the nations to go their [own] ways.
17 And yet he did not leave himself without witness [by] doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [you] with food and your hearts with gladness."
18 And [although] they said these [things], [only] with difficulty did they dissuade the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.
19 But Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and [when they] had won over the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged [him] outside the city, thinking he was dead.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. *Here "[by]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("doing good") which is understood as means
  • [b]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
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