independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
Thessalonica — three sabbaths of reasoning, and the world turned upside down 17:1–9
vv. 1–4 — the synagogue argument: the Messiah must suffer and rise
1
Διοδεύσαντες δὲ τὴν Ἀμφίπολιν καὶ τὴν Ἀπολλωνίανparticipial — preposed itinerary participle — leans on ἦλθον; the Via Egnatia stages
ἦλθον εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην,independent — the leading city of Macedonia
ὅπου ἦν συναγωγὴ τῶν Ἰουδαίων.relative — the ὅπου-note that explains the stop — Paul's point of entry
2
κατὰ δὲ τὸ εἰωθὸς τῷ Παύλῳphrase modifier — fronted norm-phrase — leans on εἰσῆλθεν; the synagogue-first pattern (13:5, 14; 14:1)
εἰσῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτοὺςindependent — the habit enacted
καὶ ἐπὶ σάββατα τρία διελέξατο αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν,independent — διελέξατο — Paul's verb of synagogue apologetics (18:4, 19; 19:8)
3
διανοίγων καὶ παρατιθέμενοςparticipial — διανοίγων — the Emmaus verb of opened Scriptures (Luke 24:32, 45); παρατίθημι, evidence set out
ὅτι τὸν Χριστὸν ἔδει παθεῖν καὶ ἀναστῆναι ἐκ νεκρῶν,content — ἔδει — the Lukan divine necessity (Luke 24:26, 46); the two-part kerygma
καὶ ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, Ἰησοῦςcontent — the identification — the argument's climax slides into direct address
ὃν ἐγὼ καταγγέλλω ὑμῖν.relative — emphatic ἐγώ — the preacher steps into his own report
4
καί τινες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπείσθησανindependent — the passive ἐπείσθησαν — the word does the persuading
καὶ προσεκληρώθησαν τῷ Παύλῳ καὶ τῷ Σιλᾷ,independent — προσκληρόω — 'cast in their lot with,' a NT hapax
τῶν τε σεβομένων Ἑλλήνων πλῆθος πολὺphrase modifier — the God-fearers — the synagogue's Gentile fringe, the mission's readiest hearers
γυναῖκές τε τῶν πρώτων οὐκ ὀλίγαι.phrase modifier — litotes οὐκ ὀλίγαι — Macedonian women of standing (cf. v. 12; 16:14)
vv. 5–9 — the jealous mob, Jason's house, and the ἕτερον-βασιλέα charge
5
Ζηλώσαντες δὲ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ προσλαβόμενοι τῶν ἀγοραίων ἄνδρας τινὰς πονηροὺς καὶ ὀχλοποιήσαντεςparticipial — triple preposed participle — jealousy, recruitment, mob-making pile up before the verb strikes; leans on ἐθορύβουν
ἐθορύβουν τὴν πόλιν,independent — imperfect — the riot in progress
καὶ ἐπιστάντες τῇ οἰκίᾳ Ἰάσονοςparticipial — preposed — leans on ἐζήτουν; the house-church as target
ἐζήτουν αὐτοὺς προαγαγεῖν εἰς τὸν δῆμον.independent — frustrated imperfect — the search that fails
6
μὴ εὑρόντες δὲ αὐτοὺςparticipial — preposed — the failed search shifts the target to Jason; leans on ἔσυρον
ἔσυρον Ἰάσονά τινας ἀδελφοὺς ἐπὶ τοὺς πολιτάρχας,independent — πολιτάρχας — the epigraphically confirmed Thessalonian title; Luke's local accuracy
βοῶντες ὅτιparticipial — manner participle with recitative ὅτι — the mob's charge follows
Οἱ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀναστατώσαντες οὗτοι καὶ ἐνθάδε πάρεισιν,content — ἀναστατώσαντες — the world-upside-down charge; hostile hyperbole Luke lets stand as unwitting tribute
7
οὓς ὑποδέδεκται Ἰάσων·relative — perfect ὑποδέδεκται — the hospitality still in force; count one: harboring
καὶ οὗτοι πάντες ἀπέναντι τῶν δογμάτων Καίσαρος πράσσουσιν,content — count two: sedition — the political nerve of the accusation
βασιλέα ἕτερον λέγοντες εἶναι Ἰησοῦν.participial — the ἕτερον-βασιλέα count — the charge against Jesus himself replayed (Luke 23:2; John 19:12); Ἰησοῦν held to last
8
ἐτάραξαν δὲ τὸν ὄχλον καὶ τοὺς πολιτάρχας ἀκούοντας ταῦτα,independent — the charge lands — an official crisis for a free city
9
καὶ λαβόντες τὸ ἱκανὸν παρὰ τοῦ Ἰάσονος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶνparticipial — τὸ ἱκανόν — the technical bail-bond phrase; leans on ἀπέλυσαν
ἀπέλυσαν αὐτούς.independent — measured justice — the politarchs act by legal convention, not mob demand
Beroea — the nobler hearers 17:10–15
vv. 10–12 — received with eagerness, examined daily
10
Οἱ δὲ ἀδελφοὶ εὐθέως διὰ νυκτὸς ἐξέπεμψαν τόν τε Παῦλον καὶ τὸν Σιλᾶν εἰς Βέροιαν,independent — διὰ νυκτός — the escape-by-night motif (9:25)
οἵτινες παραγενόμενοι εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀπῄεσαν.relative — qualitative οἵτινες — the pattern holds: synagogue first, even in flight
11
οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν εὐγενέστεροι τῶν ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ,independent — εὐγενέστεροι — birth-nobility transposed to nobility of mind; Luke's explicit comparison
οἵτινες ἐδέξαντο τὸν λόγον μετὰ πάσης προθυμίας,relative — mark one of nobility — eager reception
τὸ καθ' ἡμέραν ἀνακρίνοντες τὰς γραφὰςparticipial — mark two — ἀνακρίνοντες, quasi-judicial scrutiny; daily, not just sabbaths
εἰ ἔχοι ταῦτα οὕτως.content — indirect question with the rare literary optative ἔχοι
12
πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπίστευσαν,independent — μὲν οὖν — Luke's summary particle: examination issued in faith
καὶ τῶν Ἑλληνίδων γυναικῶν τῶν εὐσχημόνων καὶ ἀνδρῶν οὐκ ὀλίγοι.phrase modifier — the litotes again (v. 4) — the Beroean mirror of the Thessalonian harvest
vv. 13–15 — pursued to Beroea, escorted to Athens
13
Ὡς δὲ ἔγνωσαν οἱ ἀπὸ Θεσσαλονίκης Ἰουδαῖοιconditional — temporal ὡς (typed cnd; no temporal key) — leans forward on ἦλθον
ὅτι καὶ ἐν τῇ Βεροίᾳ κατηγγέλη ὑπὸ τοῦ Παύλου ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ,content — mission intelligence — the same καταγγέλλω of v. 3
ἦλθον κἀκεῖindependent — the pursuit — harassment across city lines (cf. 14:19)
σαλεύοντες καὶ ταράσσοντες τοὺς ὄχλους.participial — the double agitation participle — the Thessalonian playbook re-run
14
εὐθέως δὲ τότε τὸν Παῦλον ἐξαπέστειλαν οἱ ἀδελφοὶindependent — εὐθέως τότε — the urgent double time-marker; Paul the lightning-rod removed
πορεύεσθαι ἕως ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν·purpose — purpose infinitive — the coastward route to Athens
ὑπέμεινάν τε ὅ τε Σιλᾶς καὶ ὁ Τιμόθεος ἐκεῖ.independent — the team divides — the new church keeps its teachers
15
οἱ δὲ καθιστάνοντες τὸν Παῦλον ἤγαγον ἕως Ἀθηνῶν,independent — the escort — into the intellectual capital of the Greek world
καὶ λαβόντες ἐντολὴν πρὸς τὸν Σιλᾶν καὶ τὸν Τιμόθεονparticipial — preposed — leans on ἐξῄεσαν
ἵνα ὡς τάχιστα ἔλθωσιν πρὸς αὐτόν,content — content of the ἐντολή — sets up 18:5
ἐξῄεσαν.independent — the escort turns home — Paul is alone in Athens
Athens — the provoked spirit and the curious philosophers 17:16–21
vv. 16–17 — the idol-full city and the double venue
16
Ἐν δὲ ταῖς Ἀθήναις ἐκδεχομένου αὐτοὺς τοῦ Παύλου,participial — genitive absolute — forward-leaning; the waiting frame
παρωξύνετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷindependent — παρωξύνετο — the LXX verb of provoked indignation at idolatry
θεωροῦντος κατείδωλον οὖσαν τὴν πόλιν.participial — κατείδωλον — 'idol-saturated,' a NT hapax; the sight that fathers the speech
17
διελέγετο μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις καὶ τοῖς σεβομένοιςindependent — the provocation acts — the same διαλέγομαι as Thessalonica (v. 2)
καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ κατὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν πρὸς τοὺς παρατυγχάνοντας.phrase modifier — the second venue, verb carried over — Socrates' own ground, and Socrates' method
vv. 18–21 — Epicureans, Stoics, and the passion for the newest thing
18
τινὲς δὲ καὶ τῶν Ἐπικουρείων καὶ Στοϊκῶν φιλοσόφων συνέβαλλον αὐτῷ,independent — the two schools — gods uninvolved (Epicurus) or immanent reason (the Stoa); both named only here in the NT
καί τινες ἔλεγον·independent — the first verdict — iterative imperfect
Τί ἂν θέλοι ὁ σπερμολόγος οὗτος λέγειν;content — σπερμολόγος — the crux word: 'seed-picker,' Athenian slang for a scavenger of second-hand ideas; potential optative of polite contempt
οἱ δέ·independent — elliptical foil — the second verdict, verb of saying suppressed
Ξένων δαιμονίων δοκεῖ καταγγελεὺς εἶναι·content — the ξένων-δαιμονίων guess — the charge that felled Socrates (Plato, Apol. 24b); δαιμόνια in the Greek sense, deities
ὅτι τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν εὐηγγελίζετο.cause — narrator's gloss — 'Jesus and Anastasis' perhaps heard as a divine pair
19
ἐπιλαβόμενοί τε αὐτοῦparticipial — preposed — arrest or courteous conduct, left open; leans on ἤγαγον
ἐπὶ τὸν Ἄρειον Πάγον ἤγαγον,independent — the Areopagus — council or hill, the venue-crux left open
λέγοντες·participial — the speech-frame for the inquiry
Δυνάμεθα γνῶναιcontent — the polite Athenian inquiry — not a formal charge
τίς ἡ καινὴ αὕτη ἡ ὑπὸ σοῦ λαλουμένη διδαχή;content — verbless indirect question — καινή, the word that betrays them (v. 21)
20
ξενίζοντα γάρ τινα εἰσφέρεις εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν·cause — the reason for the hearing — ξενίζοντα echoes the ξένων of their own guess
βουλόμεθα οὖν γνῶναιcontent — the request restated — genuine curiosity
τίνα θέλει ταῦτα εἶναι.content — idiomatic θέλει εἶναι — 'what these things want to be'
21
Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ πάντες καὶ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ξένοι εἰς οὐδὲν ἕτερον ηὐκαίρουν ἢ λέγειν τι ἢ ἀκούειν τι καινότερον.independent — the narrator's aside — Luke's dry ethnography; comparative καινότερον, 'the latest thing'
The Areopagus address — the unknown God made known 17:22–31
v. 22a — the frame: the orator's stance
22
Σταθεὶς δὲ Παῦλος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Ἀρείου Πάγουparticipial — σταθείς — the formal speech-stance (2:14); leans on ἔφη
ἔφη·independent — φημί — the authoritative speech-frame; everything to v. 31 hangs here
vv. 22b–23 — the opening: your own altar to the unknown god
Ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κατὰ πάντα ὡς δεισιδαιμονεστέρους ὑμᾶς θεωρῶ.content — δεισιδαιμονεστέρους — 'very religious' or 'rather superstitious,' the calculated ambiguity left open
23
διερχόμενος γὰρ καὶ ἀναθεωρῶν τὰ σεβάσματα ὑμῶνparticipial — preposed pair — the evidence-gathering walk; leans on εὗρον
εὗρον καὶ βωμὸνcontent — the exhibit produced
ἐν ᾧ ἐπεγέγραπτο· ΑΓΝΩΣΤΩ ΘΕΩ.relative — pluperfect ἐπεγέγραπτο — the inscription standing; such altars attested (Pausanias 1.1.4); the speech's fulcrum
ὃ οὖν ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε,relative — fronted headless relative — leans forward on the resumptive τοῦτο below; ἀγνοοῦντες puns on ΑΓΝΩΣΤΩ
τοῦτο ἐγὼ καταγγέλλω ὑμῖν.content — emphatic ἐγώ — herald, not philosopher; the missionary verb καταγγέλλω
vv. 24–25 — the creator who needs nothing
24
ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν κόσμον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ,content — suspended subject, resumed by οὗτος — Gen 1 and Isa 42:5 behind the Greek κόσμος
οὗτος οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς κύριος ὑπάρχων οὐκ ἐν χειροποιήτοις ναοῖς κατοικεῖ,content — χειροποιήτοις — Stephen's word (7:48), said within sight of the Parthenon
25
οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεταιcontent — the second negation — cult as if God were a dependent
προσδεόμενός τινος,participial — προσδεόμενος — a NT hapax: God has no further need; the axiom Epicurean and Stoic could both applaud
αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσιν ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν καὶ τὰ πάντα·participial — the direction reversed — the giver, not the receiver; πνοή echoes Gen 2:7
vv. 26–27 — from one, the nations — made to seek the God who is not far
26
ἐποίησέν τε ἐξ ἑνὸς πᾶν ἔθνος ἀνθρώπων κατοικεῖν ἐπὶ παντὸς προσώπου τῆς γῆς,content — ἐξ ἑνός — the short reading (NA28) against Byzantine ἐξ ἑνὸς αἵματος; Adam implied: one ancestry levels Athenian and barbarian
ὁρίσας προστεταγμένους καιροὺς καὶ τὰς ὁροθεσίας τῆς κατοικίας αὐτῶν,participial — ὁρίσας — providence over epochs and borders (Deut 32:8); ὁροθεσία a NT hapax
27
ζητεῖν τὸν θεόν,purpose — the purpose infinitive — history and geography aimed at the search
εἰ ἄρα γε ψηλαφήσειαν αὐτὸν καὶ εὕροιεν,conditional — εἰ + double optative — the cautious possibility; ψηλαφάω, the blind man's fumbling touch
καί γε οὐ μακρὰν ἀπὸ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου ἡμῶν ὑπάρχοντα.participial — concessive — the irony: the groped-for God is near; ἡμῶν includes the speaker
v. 28 — the poets' witness
28
ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν,cause — the nearness grounded — attributed to Epimenides (Cretica); the triad of life, motion, being
ὡς καί τινες τῶν καθ' ὑμᾶς ποιητῶν εἰρήκασιν·comparative — the citation formula — pagan poets as common-ground witnesses, not Scripture
Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν.content — Aratus, Phaenomena 5 (cf. Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus) — Zeus's line re-addressed to the Creator; the chapter's deepest nest
v. 29 — the inference against the images
29
γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες τοῦ θεοῦparticipial — the poets' word taken up as premise — preposed causal; leans on ὀφείλομεν
οὐκ ὀφείλομεν νομίζεινcontent — the deontic conclusion — a moral and logical debt
χρυσῷ ἢ ἀργύρῳ ἢ λίθῳ, χαράγματι τέχνης καὶ ἐνθυμήσεως ἀνθρώπου, τὸ θεῖον εἶναι ὅμοιον.content — the reductio — offspring cannot be imaged by the parent's inferiors; Isa 40:18–20 in Greek dress; τὸ θεῖον, their own philosophical term
vv. 30–31 — ignorance overlooked; now: repent, for the day is fixed
30
τοὺς μὲν οὖν χρόνους τῆς ἀγνοίας ὑπεριδὼν ὁ θεός,participial — ὑπεριδών — tolerated, not approved (cf. Rom 3:25); ἄγνοια closes the ring with ΑΓΝΩΣΤΩ; leans on παραγγέλλει
τὰ νῦν παραγγέλλει τοῖς ἀνθρώποιςcontent — τὰ νῦν — the eschatological present; command, not counsel
πάντας πανταχοῦ μετανοεῖν,content — the double universal πάντας πανταχοῦ — the speech's single demand
31
καθότι ἔστησεν ἡμέρανcause — the ground of the command — a day already standing fixed
ἐν ᾗ μέλλει κρίνειν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἐν ἀνδρὶrelative — Ps 9:8; 96:13 — the οἰκουμένη of the mob's charge (v. 6) now under judgment; the man left unnamed
ᾧ ὥρισεν,relative — ὥρισεν — the ὁρίζω of v. 26: the God who fixed the seasons has fixed the judge
πίστιν παρασχὼν πᾶσινparticipial — πίστις as pledge/proof (BDAG 3c), not saving faith — the resurrection as public credential
ἀναστήσας αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν.participial — the raised-man pledge — the word ἀναστήσας that detonates the audience (v. 32)
The response — mockery, deferral, and faith 17:32–34
32
Ἀκούσαντες δὲ ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν,participial — preposed — the fault-line word; leans on ἐχλεύαζον
οἱ μὲν ἐχλεύαζον,independent — imperfect — the ongoing jeer; to Epicurean and Stoic alike, bodily resurrection is absurd
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν·independent — the μέν … δέ divide — the second, politer party
Ἀκουσόμεθά σου περὶ τούτου καὶ πάλιν.content — the ἀκουσόμεθά-σου-πάλιν deferral — postponement, not refusal
33
οὕτως ὁ Παῦλος ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν.independent — the quiet exit — no riot, no verdict; Lukan understatement
34
τινὲς δὲ ἄνδρες κολληθέντες αὐτῷ ἐπίστευσαν,independent — κολληθέντες — glued to him (cf. 5:13); the third response
ἐν οἷς καὶ Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης καὶ γυνὴ ὀνόματι Δάμαρις καὶ ἕτεροι σὺν αὐτοῖς.relative — verbless roll — a council member and a woman otherwise unknown to history; the seed of the Athenian church
Analysis. Acts 17 is three cities and one speech, and the layout changes shape when the speech begins. The narrative panels run Luke's travel prose flush left — coordinate main clauses loaded by preposed, anchor-less aorist participles that lean on the verb below (Διοδεύσαντες, the triple Ζηλώσαντες–προσλαβόμενοι–ὀχλοποιήσαντες chain that piles up the mob before ἐθορύβουν strikes, μὴ εὑρόντες, Ἀκούσαντες) — while speech hangs blue beneath its verbs: the mob's two-count charge under βοῶντες climaxing in 'another king, Jesus'; the philosophers' two verdicts under ἔλεγον and the elliptical οἱ δέ (σπερμολόγος, the 'seed-picker' sneer, its colloquial force tagged; the ξένων-δαιμονίων guess that echoes the indictment of Socrates); and Luke's own two narrator's asides flagged as such (the ὅτι-gloss of v. 18, the all-Athens ethnography of v. 21). The Beroean panel chains the marks of nobility — received the word, examining daily, whether these things were so — down four depths. Then vv. 22–31: one continuous address hanging as a cnt catena at constant depth beneath the two-line frame Σταθεὶς… ἔφη, its movements labeled — the unknown-god opening (with the fronted headless relative ὃ οὖν ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε leaning forward on its resumptive τοῦτο), the creator who needs nothing, the one-from-one nations with their appointed seasons (ἐξ ἑνός printed short with NA28 against the Byzantine ἐξ ἑνὸς αἵματος), the seek-and-find purpose with its double optative and the not-far ground, the poets' witness (the ζῶμεν-triad tagged to Epimenides, τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν to Aratus, Phaenomena 5 — the chapter's deepest nest, depth 7), the ignorance-overlooked-now-repent turn, and the fixed day with the raised man as πίστις — 'proof,' not saving faith, the tag says so. Cruxes the layout names and leaves open: δεισιδαιμονεστέρους as compliment ('very religious') or barb ('rather superstitious'); the Areopagus as council or hill; and the division of vv. 32–34, where the one word ἀναστήσας detonates into mockery, the ἀκουσόμεθά-σου-πάλιν deferral, and the small named harvest of Dionysius and Damaris.