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Acts 17:13

in Acts 17

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Beroea also, they came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes.

KJV

But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.

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This verse in Acts 17

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
But when the Jews of Thessalonica,.... The unbelieving Jews there, had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea; which they came at, either by persons that came from thence to Thessalonica, or by letters sent them: they came thither also; as the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came to Lystra on a like account, Act 14:19 and stirred up the people; the common people, the natives of the place, against the apostles; suggesting that they were wicked men, and enemies to all laws, human or divine, civil or religious.

This site's exposition

stirred up the people

on Acts 17:13-15

The Thessalonian opposition follows Paul to Berea and stirs up the people there as well, the same hostility crossing the sixty miles between the cities. The brethren send Paul away toward the coast while Silas and Timotheus remain, a pattern of the team dividing and regathering that will recur through the mission. Those who conduct Paul bring him as far as Athens and carry back a commandment for Silas and Timotheus to come with all speed. The bench notes how much of the mission's shape is owed to nameless brethren doing the unglamorous work of guiding, guarding, and relaying a fugitive apostle from city to city.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Cassiodorus

Complexiones on the Acts of the Apostles · Written before 585.

proposed

"And when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was also preached at Berea." When the Thessalonian Jews had knowledge that the apostles were preaching about Christ in Berea, they came there and stirred up the people with constant uproar, saying …

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 37 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

"But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people." Because there were lewd persons there. And yet that city was greater. But it is no wonder in the greater city the people were worse: nay, of course to the greater city there go the worse men, where the occasions of disturbances are many. And as in the body, where the disease is more violent for having more matter and fuel, just so is it here.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 37 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

But look, I beg you, how their fleeing was providentially ordered, not from cowardice: otherwise they would have ceased to preach, and would not have exasperated them still more. But from this flight two things resulted: both the rage of those Jews was quenched, and the preaching spread. But in terms befitting their disorderly conduct, he says, "Agitating the multitude." Just what was done at Iconium - that they may have the additional condemnation of destroying others besides themselves. (ch. xiv. 2, 19.) This is what Paul says of them: "Forbidding to preach to the Gentiles, to fill up their sins alway, for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." (1 Thess. ii. 16.)

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Stirred up the people - The word used here σαλεύειν saleuein denotes properly “to agitate” or “excite,” as the waves of the sea are agitated by the wind. It is with great beauty used to denote the “agitation and excitement of a popular tumult,” from its resemblance to the troubled waves of the ocean. The figure is often employed by the Classic writers, and also occurs in the Scriptures. See Psa 65:7; Isa 17:12-13; Jer 46:7-8.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The Jews of Thessalonica - stirred up the people - With what implacable malice did these men persecute the Gospel! And in the same spirit they continue to the present day, though it is evidently the sole cause of their wretchedness.

The words behind it

28 Greek words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Thessalonians 2:16hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.8 worksActs 17:5The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.6 worksActs 13:50The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.6 worksActs 14:2But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.6 works1 Thessalonians 2:14–16For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,4 worksActs 17:1When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Matthew 23:13Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.3 worksActs 21:27When the seven days were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,3 worksActs 6:12So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,3 worksProverbs 28:25A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.3 worksActs 14:19Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.3 worksActs 18:12While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.3 works1 Thessalonians 3:4Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.3 worksActs 20:19I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.3 worksLuke 12:51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.2 worksProverbs 15:18A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.2 works1 Kings 21:25(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.2 worksMatthew 23:15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Matthew 23:13

    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

    it leads to

    • Luke 11:52

      Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

    • Matthew 23:29

      Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.

    • Matthew 23:23

      Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced…

    • Matthew 23:27

      Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.

    • Zechariah 11:17

      Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”

  • Through

    Acts 6:12

    So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,

    it leads to

    • Acts 14:2

      But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Proverbs 15:18

      A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.

  • Through

    Acts 17:5

    The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas,…

    it leads to

    • Galatians 5:26

      Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Ascension, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Ascension, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 17 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cassiodorus, Complexiones on the Acts of the Apostles; J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 37; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Acts 17 →