Tool Beta
Is It Actually in the Bible?
Phrases people quote as Scripture. The real verse, or the honest answer that there is not one.
Acts 17:23 says Paul noticed the Athenians' "devotions": meaning he observed them in personal prayer or a quiet time.
In 1611 English "devotions" meant the physical objects of worship (idols, altars, shrines), not private prayer time.
Acts 17:23, in every translation this tool compares.
Acts 17:23 (KJV) reads: "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD." Paul is describing a walking survey of Athens's religious statues and altars, not catching people mid-prayer. The underlying Greek (sebasmata) refers to sacred objects (cult images, shrines, altars), the physical apparatus a city set up to be worshipped.
"Devotions" in 1611 English still covered that broader sense of objects and acts of religious devotion generally, not the narrower modern meaning of a scheduled personal prayer time. Paul is pointing at statues and inscriptions, not describing anyone's spiritual routine.
