From one man He created
all the nations throughout the whole earth.
He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall,
and He determined their boundaries.
His purpose was for the nations to seek after God
and perhaps feel their way toward him
and find him
though he is not far from any one of us.
For in him we live and move and exist.
(Acts 17:26-28)
No Blood
- (CEV) From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be.
- (ERV) God began by making one man, and from him he made all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they would live.
- (ESV) And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
- (GW) From one man he has made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth. He has given them the seasons of the year and the boundaries within which to live.
- (ISV) From one man he made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth, fixing the seasons of the year and the national boundaries within which they live,
- (MSG) Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living
- (NLT) From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
- (RV) and he made of one every nation of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;
- (TLB) He created all the people of the world from one man, Adam, and scattered the nations across the face of the earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and when. He determined their boundaries.
- (TLV) From one He made every nation of men to live on the face of the earth, having set appointed times and the boundaries of their territory.
Blood
- (BBE) And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands,
- (EMTV) And He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, and He ordained their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
- (JUB) and has made of one blood all the lineage of men to dwell on all the face of the earth and has determined the seasons (which he has limited) and the bounds of their habitation;
- (KJV) And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
- (LITV) And He made every nation of men of one blood, to live on all the face of the earth, ordaining fore-appointed seasons and boundaries of their dwelling,
- (MKJV) And He has made all nations of men of one blood to dwell on all the face of the earth, ordaining fore-appointed seasons and boundaries of their dwelling,
- (PICK) And from one blood He made every ethnic nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
The issue behind this difference in readings is whether the blood is present in the text or not.
ἐξ ἑνὸς αἵματος πᾶν ἔθνος ἀνθρώπων
from one blood all ethnos {of man}
The word αἵματος (haimatos) is omitted in the eclectic text. The word is present in the majority of Greek texts.
Wilbur Pickering (PICK) adds a footnote to his translation – Some 4.5% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘blood’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). I.e. the majority of Greek text include the word “blood”. The reason for omitting the word blood is given in the textual footnotes of the eclectic Greek text as the addition is likely to be a typical Western Text addition. But Bruce Metzger explains that was with “some amount of hesitation”. “There are two likely reasons why this was an omission and not an addition. The first is that the endings of ἑνὸς and ἔθνος are very similar and it is likely that a scribe’s eye has skipped from to the other and thus missed out αἵματος.” I don’t find that so feasible. More likely is the second reason for the omission: a difficulty with the concept behind the word “blood” and whether it clashes with the concept in Genesis 2:7 of God making man from dust not blood.
From the textual evidence of the Greek manuscripts it is present in the vast majority of them. Hence the readings which include the word “blood” are those which follow the Majority Text. I could and maybe should say a whole lot more at this point but I am going to refrain from doing so.
However, I will say in order to counter some who might challenge the idea of God making from one blood all nations. I am very aware that to some that may seem abhorrent. Some might argue, how can that be that human blood is compatible across the racial divide? But the simple answer is that it is not only possible but a medical fact. Wilbur Pickering includes in his footnote on this verse the following comment – “Modern medicine has discovered this to be true; blood transfusions across racial boundaries are perfectly possible.” Numbers of commentators think that the omission is because of the mismatch with Gen 2:7 – dust vs blood. Modern blood banks give transfusions across racial lines without any problem at all. The governing factor is blood type not racial labelling. The force of Paul’s argument is made that much stronger if “blood” is included because the Stoics held to the idea of the unity of the whole human race, i.e. the unity of human nature. Paul’s use of “out of one blood” rather than “out of one nation” carries more weight of argument.
“Out of one and the same blood comes every nation” is a very strong statement. It’s a brilliant statement.
Well if we look at the statement in more detail it is even more astounding. The word for nation used here is [ethnos] not [basileia] – “ethnic group” not “kingdom” or “nation state”. I love this use of “ethnos” when it appears in missionary verses – going out to all ethnic groups rather than all nations; people groups rather than countries. Paul’s statement here is rather shocking. I wonder how the Epicureans and Stoics in the Areopagus coped with the statement of God making all ethnic groups from one man’s blood.
In case you are wondering, but isn’t dust a whole different from blood Ian? How did God make man? From dust or from blood? We are told clearly he took dust from the ground and breathed on it. From that dust was formed flesh, bone, sinew and blood. He did it once in that one creative act and then for ever more it was recreated with each miraculous human birth. There is no problem. It’s a syllogism – blood is a part of the package with the dust.
I am not about to start the next part of this verse now. The matter of “God deciding beforehand when they should rise and fall, and determining their boundaries.” But of course, it opens up another wriggly one for the Monday’s Gems doesn’t it?
God. I thank you I was not born a Samaritan, a dog or a woman.
A Prayer of the Pharisees
Thoughtful white people know they are inferior to black people. When you want strong coffee, you ask for black coffee. If you want it light, you want it weak.
Malcolm X
The worst thing that ever happened to the world was the white man coming across gun powder –– the end of the world; the beginning of white supremacy.
Anon
These kinds of racist sentiment are nonsense when we realize we all come from one and the same blood.
Ian Vail