But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the disbelieving Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers.
- KJV But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.
- NKJV But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.
- NASB But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brothers.
- NLT Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Unbelieving Jews turned the Gentiles' minds against the missionaries. Opposition to the gospel often works by poisoning others against believers.
Overview
Luke contrasts the believing multitude of verse 1 with those who refused the message and actively stirred up hostility. The same pattern of synagogue opposition followed Paul from city to city. This embittering of souls shows that rejecting Christ is rarely neutral; it tends to harden into active resistance against His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Acts 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.
- Acts 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.
- Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- Acts 21:27–30When 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,
- Acts 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.
- 1 Th 2:15–16who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
- Acts 17:13But 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.
- Mark 15:10–11For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over.
- Acts 18:12While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.
- John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 14:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.