Acts 7:49
in Acts 7‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or where will My place of repose be?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool of my feet: What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord: Or what is the place of my rest?
KJV
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
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This verse in Acts 7
Commentary
9 notes on this verseOr what is the place of my rest? Not a golden or marble earthly dwelling place, but as the Prophet follows: Upon whom does my Spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet one, who trembles at my words (Isaiah LXVI)?
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
In the four hundred eightieth year after the exodus of the sons of Israel from Egypt, Solomon began to build the temple in Jerusalem, as the third book of Kings relates. (1 Kings 6:1) Moreover the temple was built so long after the ascent of …
"Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in (places) made with hands." This was shown indeed already by what had been before said: but it is shown also by the voice of a prophet; "What house will ye build for Me? saith the Lord God. As saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build for me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?"
"Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool." Nay, not even these are worthy of God, forasmuch as they are made, seeing they are creatures, the works of His hand. See how he leads them on by little and little (showing) that not even these are to be mentioned. And again the prophecy says openly, "What house will ye build Me?" etc.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. This is not to be understood carnally, as if God has members placed in heaven and on earth, as we do when we sit, but to indicate that he is within and above all, he …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Heaven is my throne,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He applies this to those that prosecuted him, and sat in judgment upon him, sharply reproving them for their wickedness, by which they had brought upon themselves the ruin of their place and nation, and then could not bear to hear of it,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Heaven is my throne - See the notes on Mat 5:34. Earth is my footstool - See the notes on Mat 5:35. What house ... - What house or temple can be large or magnificent enough for the dwelling of Him who made all things? The place of my rest - My home, my abode, my fixed seat or habitation. Compare Psa 95:11.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
gave them up--judicially. as . . . written in the book of the prophets--the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25. have ye offered to me . . . sacrifices?--The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [BENGEL].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
23 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οὐρανός | ouranos | Heaven [is] | G3772 → | 272 times |
| μοι | moi | to Me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| θρόνος, | thronos | a throne, | G2362 → | |
| ἡ | he | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | and | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| γῆ | ge | the earth | G1093 → | 248 times |
| ὑποπόδιον | hupopodion | a footstool | G5286 → | |
| τῶν | ton | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ποδῶν | podon | feet | G4228 → | 93 times |
| μου· | mou | of Mine; | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ποῖον | poion | What kind of | G4169 → | 33 times |
| οἶκον | oikon | house | G3624 → | 112 times |
| οἰκοδομήσετέ | oikodomesete | will you build | G3618 → | 40 times |
| μοι; | moi | Me? | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| λέγει | legei | says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| κύριος, | kurios | [the] Lord, | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| τίς | tis | what [is] | G5101 → | 563 times |
| τόπος | topos | [the] place | G5117 → | 94 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| καταπαύσεώς | katapauseos | rest | G2663 → | |
| μου; | mou | of Mine? | G3165 → | 1936 times |
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
οὐρανόςHeaven [is]
ouranosG3772 →272 times
μοιto Me
moiG3165 →1936 times
θρόνος,a throne,
thronosG2362 →
ἡ<the>
heG3588 →19766 times
δὲand
deG1161 →2765 times
γῆthe earth
geG1093 →248 times
ὑποπόδιονa footstool
hupopodionG5286 →
τῶνof the
tonG3588 →19766 times
ποδῶνfeet
podonG4228 →93 times
μου·of Mine;
mouG3165 →1936 times
ποῖονWhat kind of
poionG4169 →33 times
οἶκονhouse
oikonG3624 →112 times
οἰκοδομήσετέwill you build
oikodomeseteG3618 →40 times
μοι;Me?
moiG3165 →1936 times
λέγειsays
legeiG3004 →1325 times
κύριος,[the] Lord,
kuriosG2962 →711 times
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
τίςwhat [is]
tisG5101 →563 times
τόπος[the] place
toposG5117 →94 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
καταπαύσεώςrest
katapauseosG2663 →
μου;of Mine?
mouG3165 →1936 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 66:1This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:27
But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 17:24
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
- Acts 7:48–50
However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
- Matthew 5:34–35
But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
- 1 Kings 8:27
Through
Revelation 3:21To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 2:12
if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us;
- Matthew 19:28
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve…
- Revelation 2:26–27
And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.
- 2 Timothy 2:12
Through
Jeremiah 23:24“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
- Proverbs 15:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies38
On this verse
On this chapter
- Abraham
- Brit milah: circumcision on the eighth day
- Chaldea
- Circumcision of the Heart
- Egypt's Famine Years and the Land of Pharaoh
- Father, Forgive Them
Show the next 6 titles
Show the next 6 titles
- Types of Christ: Joseph and Joshua
- Joseph and the Tale of Two Brothers
- Joshua son of Nun
- Amos and the Courts at the Gate
- Love Your Enemies
- Mesopotamia
Show the next 6 titles
- Moses in the Bulrushes
- Mourning and Burial in Israel
- Outside the Camp
- Paul
- Prophet, Priest and King: The Threefold Office of Christ
- Scribes and the Sanhedrin
Show the next 6 titles
About Acts

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 17; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts.
