Paragraph 17:5–9
17:5a
The Jews: This refers to Jews in Thessalonica who were not persuaded by Paul and Silas. Some or many of them now opposed Paul and Silas. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
some Jews (Good News Translation)
-or-
other Jews
became jealous: This indicates that the other Jews were upset because Paul and Silas were persuading people who were associating with the Jews to start to associate with Paul and Silas. Greeks who were interested but not fully committed to the Jewish religion were now fully committed to following Jesus as the Christ. This upset the Jews and they perhaps wished that they could convert people like Paul and Silas were doing. Other ways to translate jealous are:
full of resentment (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
moved with envy (King James Version)
-or-
resented that
-or-
were jealous ⌊that Paul and Silas were taking people away from them⌋
-or-
coveted ⌊Paul and Silas’s success⌋
17:5b
some troublemakers from the marketplace: This phrase in Greek is literally “evil men of the market people.” The marketplace was usually crowded with all kinds of people. The Jews knew which ones were troublemakers and which ones would do evil deeds for money. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
some bad characters from the marketplace (New International Version)
-or-
worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace (NET Bible)
the marketplace: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as marketplace was a public area where people gathered for many activities, including buying and selling, or even to be idle. See how you translated this word in 16:19.
17:5c
formed a mob: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as formed a mob refers to gathering people into a crowd. For example:
they gathered a crowd (Revised Standard Version)
This crowd was full of troublemakers, so the Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek word as formed a mob.
sent the city into an uproar: This clause in Greek is literally “they were causing an uproar in the city.” The troublemakers caused many other people to become angry, shout angrily, and perhaps do something bad. Other ways to translate this clause are:
set the city in an uproar (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
caused people to riot in the city
17:5d–8
The pronoun “they” is used several times in 17:5d–8 when a group did something: “They raided” (17:5d), “they could not find…, they dragged” (17:6a), “shouting” (17:6b), and “they greatly disturbed the crowd and city officials” (17:8b, literal Greek structure, see note there).
Probably the Jews (17:5a) did all these deeds and led the mob in doing these deeds. The words of 17:6c–7c are similar to other verses where the Jews complained about Christians.
17:5d
They raided Jason’s house: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as raided refers to entering into something. Here it probably implies that the mob forced their way into Jason’s house, because 17:6 indicates that they did not find Paul and Silas there. The Good News Translation says:
and attacked the home of a man named Jason (Good News Translation)
But the mob was not trying to destroy the house. Other ways to translate this clause are:
they went straight to Jason’s home (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
they went to Jason’s house and forced their way in
They: Here this pronoun probably refers to the Jews leading the mob and the bad characters from the marketplace.
in search of Paul and Silas: This implies that the mob expected Paul and Silas to be in Jason’s house.
17:5e
the people: There are several ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the people:
(1) It means an assembly of citizens responsible for justice in the city. For example:
the People’s Assembly (New Jerusalem Bible)
(New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, Revised English Bible)
(2) It means a crowd. Here it refers to the crowd that was outside of Jason’s house. For example:
the mob (Contemporary English Version)
(New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible)
(3) It refers generally to the people of the city. For example:
the people (Revised Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New Century Version, King James Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because they took Jason and other believers to the city officials when they did not find Paul and Silas. Also, the Greek word is not the usual Greek word that Luke used for the meaning of “crowd.”
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