Acts 14:18

Even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could hardly stop the crowds from sacrificing to them.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Paul and Barnabas act to restrain the crowds from sacrificing to them immediately after declaring God’s provision through rain and fruitful seasons.

The words — The Greek term μόλις (molis) translates to “hardly,” paired with κατέπαυσαν (katepausan) meaning “they stopped,” which literally describes the severe difficulty of their intervention.

The thread — The crowds’ readiness to deify human messengers mirrors the idolatry condemned in Exodus 32:21 and the unified rebellion of Genesis 11:6, while Jeremiah 44:16 records the subsequent stubborn refusal to heed warnings against such practices.

Why it lands — The text states that even clear testimony against idolatry meets overwhelming cultural resistance, requiring the reader to depend on God’s sovereign restraint rather than human persuasive success.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

καὶkaiAnd ταῦταtautathese things λέγοντεςlegontessaying μόλιςmolishardly κατέπαυσανkatepausanthey stopped τοὺςtousthe ὄχλουςochlouscrowds τοῦtou<the>μὴmēnot θύεινthueinsacrificing αὐτοῖς.¶autoisto them.

King James Version

And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 44:16 “As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you!
Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them.
Exodus 32:21 “What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”
John 6:15 Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
Genesis 19:9 “Get out of the way!” they replied. And they declared, “This one came here as a foreigner, and he is already acting like a judge! Now we will treat you worse than them.” And they pressed in on Lot and moved in to break down the door.