And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to treat them abusively and to stone them,
Parallel translations
- WEB When some of both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them,
- KJV And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,
- BSB But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,
- NKJV And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them,
- NLT Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them.
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
Gentiles, Jews, and their rulers plotted to abuse and stone the missionaries. Hostility to the gospel hardened into a coordinated threat of violence.
Overview
Former rivals united against the shared object of their hatred, a recurring irony in Acts where opposition to Christ unites otherwise divided groups. Stoning was the prescribed penalty for blasphemy, so the plot framed the gospel as an offense against God. The threat is real but, for now, escapes them, showing God's providential timing over His servants' lives.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 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.
- 2 Tim 3:11persecutions, and sufferings: those things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I endured those persecutions. The Lord delivered me out of them all.
- Acts 4:25–29who by the mouth of your servant, David, said, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
- 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.
- Ps 2:1–3Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
- Luke 6:28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.
- Ps 83:5For they have conspired together with one mind. They form an alliance against you.
- Matt 5:44But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 14:5 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.