Acts 17:16

), and the account he gave of natural religion, for the conviction of those that were addicted to polytheism and idolatry, and to lead them to the Christian religion (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens..... That is, for Silas and Timotheus: his spirit was stirred in him; not only his soul was troubled and his heart was grieved, but he was exasperated and provoked to the last degree: he was in a paroxysm; his heart was hot within him; he had a burning fire in his bones, and was weary with forbearing, and could not stay; his zeal wanted vent, and he gave it: when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry; or "full of idols", as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it.

He saw the city wholly given to idolatry - Κατειδωλον, Full of idols, as the margin has it, and very properly. Whoever examines the remains of this city, as represented by Mr. Stuart in his Antiquities, already referred to, will be satisfied of the truth of St. Luke’s remark: it was full of idols. Bishop Pearce produces a most apposite quotation from Pausanias, which confirms the observation: Ουκ ην αλλαχου τοσαυτα ιδειν ειδωλα. There was no place where so many idols were to be seen. Paus. in Attic. cap. xvii.

Now while Paul waited - How long he was there is not intimated; but doubtless some time would elapse before they could arrive. In the meantime Paul had ample opportunity to observe the state of the city. His spirit was stirred in him - His mind was greatly excited. The word used here (παρωξύνετο parōxuneto) denotes “any excitement, agitation, or paroxysm of mind,” 1Co 13:5. It here means that the mind of Paul was greatly concerned, or agitated, doubtless with pity and distress at their folly and danger. The city wholly given to idolatry - Greek: κατέιδωλον kateidōlon. It is well translated in the margin, “or full of idols.” The word is not used elsewhere in the New Testament. That this was the condition of the city is abundantly testified by profane writers. Thus, Pausanias (in Attic. 1Co 1:24) says, “the Athenians greatly surpassed others in their zeal for religion.” Lucian (t. i. Prometh. p. 180) says of the city of Athens, “On every side there are altars, victims, temples, and festivals.” Livy (45, 27) says that Athens “was full of the images of gods and men, adorned with every variety of material, and with all the skill of art.” And Petronius (Sat. xvii.) says humorously of the city, that “it was easier to find a god than a man there.” See Kuinoel. In this verse we may see how a splendid idolatrous city will strike a pious mind. Athens then had more that was splendid in architecture, more that was brilliant in science, and more that was beautiful in the arts, than any other city of the world; perhaps more than all the rest of the world united. Yet there is no account that the mind of Paul was filled with admiration; there is no record that he spent his time in examining the works of art; there is no evidence that he forgot his high purpose in an idle and useless contemplation of temples and statuary. […]