Bible Strands
Acts 16:20
They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The owners of the enslaved girl drag Paul and Silas before the Roman magistrates in the marketplace after their hope of profit vanishes. They present a formal accusation to justify the seizure and shift legal blame onto the accused.
The words — στρατηγοῖς (stratēgois) literally means military commanders or Roman magistrates, identifying the civil officials with judicial authority. προσαγαγόντες (prosagagontes) is a participle meaning having brought up, emphasizing the deliberate action of delivering the accused to the bench.
The thread — The charge of civic disruption mirrors Acts 28:22, where opponents claim people everywhere speak against a specific sect. This pattern of opposition aligns with John 15:18, which notes that the world’s hostility toward followers stems from its prior hostility toward Christ.
Why it lands — The text records a legal accusation triggered by lost financial gain, requiring a reader to see how economic motives drive civic opposition to a message. It demands recognition that claims of public order often mask the defense of established systems of control.
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
King James Version
And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
Cross-references
- James 4:4 You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
- John 15:18 If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
- Acts 28:22 But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
- Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
- 1 Kings 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
- Ezra 4:12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations.
- Esther 3:8 Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.
- Matthew 2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
- Acts 17:6 But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
- Acts 18:2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them,