^17:11These Jews⁴¹ were more open-minded⁴² than those in Thessalonica,⁴³ for they eagerly⁴⁴ received⁴⁵ the message, examining⁴⁶ the scriptures carefully every day⁴⁷ to see if these things were so. ^17:12Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few⁴⁸ prominent⁴⁹ Greek women and men. ^17:13But when the Jews from Thessalonica⁵⁰ heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God⁵¹ in Berea,⁵² they came there too, inciting⁵³ and disturbing⁵⁴ the crowds. ^17:14Then the brothers sent Paul away to the coast⁵⁵ at once, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea.⁵⁶

Read in Logos

Acts 17:11: Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Footnotes

41 Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
42 Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.
43 Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica). For location see ; ; ; .
44 Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”
45 Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.
46 This verb ( ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.
47 ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
48 Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).
49 Or “respected.”
50 Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).
51 Grk “that the word of God had also been proclaimed by Paul.” This passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for stylistic reasons.
52 Berea (alternate spelling in Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.
53 σαλεύω 2 has “incite” for σαλεύοντες (saleuontes) in Acts 17:13. Inciting. Ironically, it was the Jews who were disturbing the peace, not the Christians.
54 Or “stirring up” ( ταράσσω 2). The point is the agitation of the crowds.
55 Grk “to the sea.” Here ἕως ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν (heōs epi tēn thalassan) must mean “to the edge of the sea,” that is, “to the coast.” Since there is no mention of Paul taking a ship to Athens, he presumably traveled overland. The journey would have been about 340 mi (550 km).
56 Grk “remained there”; the referent (Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and upsetting the crowds. Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there.

NLTNew Living Translation

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now these were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. They accepted the message with all eagerness, examining the scriptures every day to see if these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and not a few of the prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the message of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there too, inciting and stirring up the crowds. So then the brothers sent Paul away at once to go to the sea, and both Silas and Timothy remained there.

KJV 1900King James Version

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. 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. And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.

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