Passage

Acts 17.4

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

2. and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the scriptures, 3. opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, said he, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ.

4. And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

But the Jews, being moved with jealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gathering a crowd, set the city on an uproar; and assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them forth to the people. 6. And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; (Acts 17:2-6, ASV)

WEB

2. Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3. explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

4. Some of them were persuaded, and joined Paul and Silas, of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and not a few of the chief women.

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. 6. When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also, (Acts 17:2-6, WEB)

KJV

2. And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, 3. Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. ^{whom: or, whom, said he, I preach}

4. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 6. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; (Acts 17:2-6, KJV)

YLT

2. and according to the custom of Paul, he went in unto them, and for three sabbaths he was reasoning with them from the Writings, 3. opening and alleging, 'That the Christ it behoved to suffer, and to rise again out of the dead, and that this is the Christ, Jesus whom I proclaim to you.'

4. And certain of them did believe, and attached themselves to Paul and to Silas, also of the worshipping Greeks a great multitude, of the principal women also not a few.

And the unbelieving Jews, having been moved with envy, and having taken to them of the loungers certain evil men, and having made a crowd, were setting the city in an uproar; having assailed also the house of Jason, they were seeking them to bring [them] to the populace, 6. and not having found them, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the city rulers, calling aloud, 'These, having put the world in commotion, are also here present, (Acts 17:2-6, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the narrator of Acts, traditionally Luke
Audience: Theophilus (Acts 1:1) and the reader
Location: Thessalonica, capital of the Roman province of Macedonia, reached by way of Amphipolis and Apollonia (17:1)
Time period: c. AD 50, on Paul's second missionary journey, shortly before his eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18:11)

Theological reading

"And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few." After three sabbaths of argument from the Scriptures (17:2-3), Luke records the result.

Persuaded. The verb (Strong's G3982, which the KJV renders "believed") is the language of being convinced. Paul had been "opening and alleging" from the texts that the Christ had to suffer and rise (17:3), and some of his Jewish hearers were persuaded. Luke uses the same word of Paul's work at Corinth, where he "persuaded Jews and Greeks" (18:4). Faith in Acts is not described as a leap away from argument.

Three groups. Luke names some of the Jews, "the devout Greeks" in great numbers, and "the chief women," leading women of the city. "Devout" (G4576) describes Gentiles who worshipped Israel's God and attended the synagogue without becoming full converts; Luke uses the same word of Lydia, "one that worshipped God" (16:14), and of Titus Justus at Corinth (18:7). At Pisidian Antioch, "the devout women of honorable estate" were stirred up against Paul (13:50); here women of rank come over to him.

"Consorted." The verb (G4345) means to be allotted to or attached to someone. The converts cast in their lot with Paul and Silas, and the next verses show what that cost: Jason's house is attacked and the brethren are dragged before the magistrates (17:5-6).

What the letter adds. Paul's first letter to this church describes converts who "turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9). That fits the large Gentile element Luke reports here. See Church at Thessalonica.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Concepts:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.