^17:5But the Jews became jealous,¹⁷ and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace,¹⁸ they formed a mob¹⁹ and set the city in an uproar.²⁰ They attacked Jason’s house,²¹ trying to find Paul and Silas²² to bring them out to the assembly.²³^17:6When they did not find them, they dragged²⁴ Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials,²⁵ screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble²⁶ throughout the world²⁷ have come here too, ^17:7and²⁸ Jason has welcomed them as guests! They²⁹ are all acting against Caesar’s³⁰ decrees, saying there is another king named³¹ Jesus!”³²^17:8They caused confusion among³³ the crowd and the city officials³⁴ who heard these things. ^17:9After³⁵ the city officials³⁶ had received bail³⁷ from Jason and the others, they released them.

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Footnotes

17 Grk “becoming jealous.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zēlōsantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. So elsewhere in Acts (5:17; 7:9; 13:45).
18 Literally ἀγοραῖος (agoraios) refers to the crowd in the marketplace, although ἀγοραῖος 1 gives the meaning, by extension, as “rabble.” Such a description is certainly appropriate in this context. L&N 15.127 translates the phrase “worthless men from the streets.”
19 On this term, which is a NT , see ὀχλοποιέω.
20 θορυβέω 1 has “set the city in an uproar, start a riot in the city” for the meaning of ἐθορύβουν (ethoruboun) in this verse.
21 The attack took place at Jason’s house because this was probably the location of the new house church.
22 Grk “them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 δῆμος 2 has “in a Hellenistic city, a convocation of citizens called together for the purpose of transacting official business, popular assembly προάγειν εἰς τὸν δ. Ac 17:5.”
24 See σύρω on this verb. It was used in everyday speech of dragging in fish by a net, or dragging away someone’s (presumably) dead body (Paul in Acts 14:19).
25 L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarchēs) as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit—‘city official’ ” (see also ).
26 Or “rebellion.” ἀναστατόω has “disturb, trouble, upset,” but in light of the references in the following verse to political insurrection, “stirred up rebellion” would also be appropriate.
27 Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire ( οἰκουμένη 2.b). Throughout the world. Note how some of those present had knowledge of what had happened elsewhere. Word about Paul and his companions and their message was spreading.
28 Grk “whom.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who have stirred up trouble … whom Jason has welcomed”) the relative pronoun here (“whom”) has been replaced by the conjunction “and,” creating a clause that is grammatically coordinate but logically subordinate in the translation.
29 Grk “and they.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
30 Or “the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
31 The word “named” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.
32 Acting … saying … Jesus. The charges are serious, involving sedition (Luke 23:2). If the political charges were true, Rome would have to react.
33 Grk “They troubled the crowd and the city officials”; but this could be understood to mean “they bothered” or “they annoyed.” In reality the Jewish instigators managed to instill doubt and confusion into both the mob and the officials by their false charges of treason. Verse 8 suggests the charges raised again Paul, Silas, Jason, and the others were false.
34 L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarchēs) as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit—‘city official.’ ”
35 Grk “And after.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
36 Grk “they”; the referent (the city officials) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37 That is, “a payment” or “a pledge of security” ( ἱκανός 1) for which “bail” is the most common contemporary English equivalent.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly. When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus.” The crowd and city officials who heard these things were upset. After taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.

NLTNew Living Translation

But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But the Jews were filled with jealousy and, taking along some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace and forming a mob, threw the city into an uproar. And attacking Jason’s house, they were looking for them to bring them out to the popular assembly. And when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here also, whom Jason has entertained as guests! And these people are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus!” And they threw the crowd into confusion, and the city officials who heard these things. And after taking money as security from Jason and the rest, they released them.

KJV 1900King James Version

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. 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; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

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