Acts 6:12

Context
6:12 They incited the people, the¹ elders, and the experts in the law;² then they approached Stephen,³ seized him, and brought him before the council.⁴

Acts 17:5

Context
17:5 But the Jews became jealous,⁵ and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace,⁶ they formed a mob⁷ and set the city in an uproar.⁸ They attacked Jason’s house,⁹ trying to find Paul and Silas¹⁰ to bring them out to the assembly.¹¹

[6:12] ¹tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:12] ²tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 4:5.

[6:12] ³tn Grk “approaching, they seized him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:12] ⁴tn Or “the Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews). Stephen suffers just as Peter and John did.

[17:5] ⁵tn Grk “becoming jealous.” The participle ζηλώσαντες (zhlwsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. So elsewhere in Acts (5:17; 7:9; 13:45).

[17:5] ⁶tn Literally ἀγοραῖος (agoraio") refers to the crowd in the marketplace, although BDAG 14-15 s.v. ἀγοραῖος 1 gives the meaning, by extension, as “rabble.” Such a description is certainly appropriate in this context. L&N 15.127 translates the phrase “worthless men from the streets.”

[17:5] ⁷tn On this term, which is a NT hapax legomenon, see BDAG 745 s.v. ὀχλοποιέω.

[17:5] ⁸tn BDAG 458 s.v. θορυβέω 1 has “set the city in an uproar, start a riot in the city” for the meaning of ἐθορύβουν (eqoruboun) in this verse.

[17:5] ⁹sn The attack took place at Jason’s house because this was probably the location of the new house church.

[17:5] ¹⁰tn Grk “them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:5] ¹¹tn BDAG 223 s.v. δῆμος 2 has “in a Hellenistic city, a convocation of citizens called together for the purpose of transacting official business, popular assembly προάγειν εἰς τὸν δ. Ac 17:5.”