But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them 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.
- BSB But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
- NKJV But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.
- 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 13:50But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders.
- Acts 14:19But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
- Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.
- Acts 21:27–30When 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,
- Acts 17:5But 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.
- 1 Th 2:15–16who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn’t please God, and are contrary to all men;
- Acts 17:13But 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.
- Mark 15:10–11For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up.
- Acts 18:12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,
- John 3:36One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but 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.