But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Beroea also, they came there likewise, agitating the multitudes.
Parallel Translations
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But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Beroea also, they came there likewise, agitating the multitudes.
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When the Iewes of Thessalonia had knowledge that the worde of God was preached of Paul at Berrea they came there and moved the people.
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But when the Iewes of Thessalonica knewe, that the woord of God was also preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and mooued the people.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Acts 17:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 For you, brothers, became imitators of the assemblies of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and don’t please God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the uttermost.
- Proverbs 28:25 One who is greedy stirs up strife; but one who trusts in Yahweh will prosper.
- Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
- Acts 6:12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, then brought him in to the council,
- Acts 14:2 But the disbelieving Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers.
- Acts 17:5 But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people.
- Acts 21:27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,
- 1 Kings 21:25 But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
- Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirs up contention, but one who is slow to anger appeases strife.
- Luke 12:51 Do you think that I have come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, no, but rather division.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 13. And when the Jews. We see how the…
13. And when the Jews. We see how the Jews were carried to and fro with such hatred of the gospel as could never be appeased. For they do not only expel Christ furiously when he is offered unto them at home; but when they hear that he is preached elsewhere, they run thither like mad men. But we must not so much in this place consider the fury of the nation as the desperate malice of Satan, who pricketh forward those which be his to trouble the kingdom of Christ, and to destroy man’s salvation; and he useth them as fans to raise sedition. Wherefore, let us know, that when at this day so many furious enemies do set themselves against the faithful ministers of Christ, it is not men which procure the war, but it is Satan, the father of lying, who doth go about all these things that he may overthrow the kingdom of Christ. (John 8:44.) And though there be not always the same form in fighting and encountering, yet will Satan never cease to make weary those whom he knoweth to serve Christ faithfully, either with open war, or secret lying in wait, or domestical combats.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Satan hath his, who are zealous for him, and…
Satan hath his, who are zealous for him, and that even such, as least of all ought.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge…
13 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.
Ver. 13. They came thither also] Thus they pleased not God and were contrary to all men; wherefore "wrath is come upon them to the utmost," 1Th 2:15-16.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain As the waves are stirred with the wind; a…
As the waves are stirred with the wind; a fit metaphor to represent the fickle multitude by, that, as the sea, now rolls one way, then another; or as tottering buildings, that shake with every wind.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But when the Jews of Thessalonica,.... The unbelieving Jews…
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:
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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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 13. The Jews of Thessalonica - stirred up…
Verse 13. 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.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Stirred up the people - The word used here…
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.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the Jews of Thessalonica . . . came thither…
the Jews of Thessalonica . . . came thither also--"like hunters upon their prey, as they had done before from Iconium to Lystra" [HOWSON].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 13. Stirred up the people—Paul would gladly now have…
13. Stirred up the people—Paul would gladly now have returned to visit his dear Thessalonian Church, but “Satan” instigating his Jewish foes, “hindered” him, and he diverges still farther to the southeast.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. the word of God] The Thessalonian Jews would…
13. the word of God] The Thessalonian Jews would not have termed it so, to such an extent had prejudice and long training in the later Jewish teaching blinded their eyes. When Moses was read there was a vail over their hearts, and they saw not the glory.
and stirred up the people] In the oldest texts there are two verbs here, “stirring up and troubling the multitudes.” The first contains the figure of a storm at sea, where all is disturbed down to the very depths, a figure apt enough for the confusion which these men desired to create; the second verb is the same that occurs in Act_17:8, and it is probable from this that the way in which the trouble was produced here was the same as there, by the statement that the Apostles were traitors to the Roman power. (For the figurative language cp. Isa_57:20.)
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13) They came thither also, and stirred up the…
(13) They came thither also, and stirred up the people.—To the unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica the conversions at Berœa were simply a cause of offence. It is apparently with reference to this that St. Paul says of them that “they please not God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles” (1Th_2:15).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Proclaimed for preached, A.V.; Beraea also for Berea, A.V.;…
Proclaimed for preached, A.V.; Beraea also for Berea, A.V.; likewise for also, A.V.; stirring up and troubling the multitudes for and stirred up the people, A.V. and T.R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 13–15. They came thither. The inveterate hatred of the…
13–15. They came thither. The inveterate hatred of the Jews of Thessalonica pursued him. When they began to stir up a disturbance at Berea, as Paul was the chief object of hatred, it was thought best for him to leave, but Silas and Timothy were left to continue the work.
To go as it were to the sea. He started as though to embark on the sea, Berea not being a seaport. Whether he did, or went to Athens by land, is not stated. The journey by land was about 250 miles. The sea voyage would be much the quicker route.
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They that conducted Paul. Some of the Berean brethren. When they returned they took a message to Silas and Timothy to join him at once. From 1 Thess. 3:1, 2, we learn that Timothy was at once sent to Thessalonica.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain 13, 14. There seemed to be no serious obstacle…
13, 14. There seemed to be no serious obstacle to the gospel in Berea, and the disciples may have begun to flatter themselves with the hope that the whole city would turn to the Lord, when an unexpected enemy sprung upon them from the rear. (13) " But when the Jews of Thessalonica knew that the word of God was preached by Paul in Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. (14) Then the brethren immediately sent Paul away, to go as if to the sea; but Silas and Timothy remained there. " There was always sufficient material for a mob, in a the rude heathen population of a city as large as Berea, and there was always sufficient appearance of antagonism between the gospel as preached by Paul, and the laws and customs of the heathen, to enable designing men to excite the masses against it. Hence, the easy success of these embittered enemies from Thessalonica, who, in addition to other considerations, could ask if Bereans would tolerate men who had been compelled to fly by night from Thessalonica.
The statement that the brethren sent Paul away to "go as if to the sea," certainly implies some disguise of his real purpose. The only supposition answerable to the phraseology employed is, that he started in the direction of the sea, and then turned, so as to pursue the land route to Athens, which was the next field of labor. Mr. Howson, who insists that he went by sea, does not display his usual ability in arguing the question. Paul once traveled from Corinth to Berea by land, and why not now from Berea through Athens to Corinth? The fact that it was the more tedious and less usual route, being two hundred and fifty miles overland, is a good reason why he should have chosen it the more certainly to elude pursuit.
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Whether by land or by sea, the apostle now leave Macedonia, and starts out for another province of ancient Greece. He has planted Churches in three important cities of Macedonia. Of these, Thessalonica occupied the central position, with Philippi one hundred miles to the north-east, and Berea sixty miles to the south-west. Each of these becomes a radiating center, from which the light of truth might shine into the surrounding darkness. We have the testimony of Paul himself, that from at least one of them the light shone with great intensity. He writes to the Thessalonians: "From you has sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God is spread abroad, so that we have no need to say any thing." There was no need of Paul's voice at any more than central points, when he could leave behind him congregations such as this. No doubt much of their zeal and fidelity were owing to the fostering care of such men as Silas and Timothy, and Luke, whom the apostle occasionally left behind him.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Athens is down the coast from Barea which is in Macedonia. Athens was one of the most important cities in Greece. (See: How to Translate Names)
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went there and stirred up
This speaks about their agitating people as though it were a person stirring a liquid and causing the things at the bottom of the liquid to rise to the surface. AT: "went there and agitated" or "went there and disturbed" (See: Metaphor)
troubled the crowds
"and worried the crowds" or "caused dread and fear among the people"
brothers
The word "brothers" here refers to men and women believers. AT: "believers" (See: When Masculine Words Include Women)
to go to the sea
"to go to the coast." From here Paul would probably sail to another city.
who were leading Paul
"who were accompanying Paul" or "who were going along with Paul"
they received from him instructions for Silas and Timothy
"he told them to instruct Silas and Timothy." This can also be stated as a direct quotation as in the UDB. (See: Direct and Indirect Quotations)
translationWords
Jew
Thessalonica
Paul
preach
word of God
Berea
brother
Silas
Timothy
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 17:13-15 Paul acknowledged the determination and persistence of this…
17:13-15 Paul acknowledged the determination and persistence of this persecution when he wrote to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 2:14-16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.