Acts 14:5-7 · Bible study
Acts 14:5-7 Commentary: Threat, Flight, and Mission
Greek · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
An in-depth study of Acts 14:5-7. When persecution threatened, Paul and Barnabas fled, but kept preaching. What the Greek reveals about wisdom and mission.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The apostles fled a violent plot against them and continued their mission in new territory.
- Key Words: hormē (impulse/assault), sunidontes (having become aware), euangelizomenoi ēsan (they were preaching the good news, continuous action).
- Main Debate: Was the assault an actual attack or a threatened movement? The Greek favors the latter.
- Theological Theme: Prudence in persecution; the gospel advances despite opposition.
- Best Use: A model for wise response to threats while maintaining commitment to the gospel.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
5But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,
6they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region,
7where they continued to preach the gospel.
WEB World English Bible 2000
5When some of both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them,
6they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.
7There they preached the Good News.
KJV King James Version 1769
5And 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,
6They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:
7And there they preached the gospel.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
5And when there was made an onset both of the Gentiles and of the Jews with their rulers, to treat them shamefully and to stone them,
6they became aware of it, and fled unto the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the region round about:
7and there they preached the gospel.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
5and when there was a purpose both of the nations and of the Jews with their rulers to use them despitefully, and to stone them,
6they having become aware, did flee to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and to the region round about,
7and there they were proclaiming good news.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
5And when an assault was making, both of [those of] the nations and [the] Jews with their rulers, to use [them] ill and stone them,
6they, being aware of it, fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding country,
7and there they were announcing the glad tidings.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
5And when there was an assault made by the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to use them contumeliously and to stone them:
6They, understanding it, fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the whole country round about: and were there preaching the gospel.
7And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Acts 14:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators largely agree that the word translated "assault" (Greek ὁρμή, hormē) describes a violent impulse or threatened movement rather than an accomplished attack. Vincent argues that rendering it as "assault" is too strong; Barnes calls it a "rush" denoting an impetuous aggressive excitement. The Cambridge Bible explains that the noun does not necessarily imply a direct attack had already been made. The apostles became aware (συνιδόντες, sunidontes, having seen together, comprehended clearly) and fled, acting out of prudence not cowardice. They followed Christ's instruction in Matthew 10:23. Then they continued preaching, with the periphrastic imperfect ἦσαν εὐαγγελιζόμενοι (ēsan euangelizomenoi) indicating sustained activity. Calvin writes that this is "the right kind of fear", not abandoning duty while not rushing into death. The passage offers a pattern for wise response to persecution: avoid unnecessary danger while pressing on with the gospel.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Actual attack view: The KJV and some translations render ὁρμή as 'assault,' suggesting physical violence had begun; the apostles escaped mid-stoning.
- Threatened movement view: Commentators like Vincent, Barnes, and Cambridge argue that ὁρμή denotes an impulsive, threatened movement, not a completed attack, supported by the fact that no stoning is described until later at Lystra.
What is clear: The apostles fled to safety and continued preaching the gospel in a new region.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the assault | It was a violent intention or movement aimed at the apostles. | Some interpret it as an actual physical attack that had begun, while others understand it as a threatened, impulsive movement that had not yet culminated in stoning. |
| Identity of the rulers | They were authorities who sided with the mob. | Some commentators see them as Jewish synagogue leaders, others as Gentile city magistrates, and some as a general reference to any local officials. |
| Geography of Iconium | Iconium was a city in Asia Minor, and Paul and Barnabas fled to Lycaonian cities. | Ancient sources differ on whether Iconium itself lay in Phrygia or Lycaonia; Luke never calls it a city of Lycaonia, unlike Lystra and Derbe. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The setting is Iconium, a prominent city in Asia Minor. Whether Iconium belonged to Phrygia or Lycaonia was debated by ancient geographers; Clarke cites Strabo and Ptolemy placing it within Lycaonia, while Pliny notes a tetrarchy carved out of Lycaonia. The mob that formed included both Gentiles and Jews together with their rulers (archontes, a general term for authorities). The Jews likely instigated the riot, portraying the apostles as blasphemers to justify stoning, their traditional punishment for such an offense. The apostles fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. Barnes describes Lycaonia as a bare, dreary plain with few Jews, making it a safer location for initial gospel preaching. The flight was not aimless; it opened new ground for the mission. The imperfect tense of euangelizomenoi ("they were preaching") shows that departure from Iconium did not end their task. The gospel continued to advance, and the apostles modeled obedience to Christ's command to move on when persecuted (Matthew 10:23).
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Acts 14:5-7. The text is stable across major manuscript traditions. Some manuscripts add a phrase after verse 7, as noted by Clarke and Gill: "and all the people were moved at their preaching, but Paul and Barnabas continued at Lystra." This addition appears in some later manuscripts but is not present in the earliest witnesses. It may reflect an early scribal attempt to connect the flight to the healing narrative that follows.
Reception History
Throughout church history, Acts 14:5-7 has been read as a model of wise prudence in the face of persecution. Calvin highlighted the balance between avoiding unnecessary danger and not abandoning Christian duty. In the Reformation era, the passage supported the justification for believers to flee when threatened rather than actively seeking martyrdom. In missionary contexts, it has been seen as a pattern for strategic relocation: the gospel moves when opposition blocks one path. The flight to Lystra and Derbe also prefigures Paul's later stoning in Lystra (Acts 14:19), adding a poignant note, prudence does not prevent every suffering, but it keeps the mission alive.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The Threat We Face (v. 5). A violent movement arose, driven by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers. The word hormē points to a volatile, impulsive hostility, the kind that can explode at any moment.
- The Wisdom We Learn (v. 6). Becoming aware of the danger, the apostles fled. This was not cowardice but prudence, following Jesus’ own teaching to avoid unnecessary harm when the mission continues.
- The Mission We Continue (v. 7). In the new cities they preached the gospel. The imperfected periphrastic verb shows they kept at it. Flight changed the location, not the calling.
Five-Point Outline
- Recognizing the Danger, the apostles perceived the plot, likely through supporters in the city.
- Choosing Flight, they did not stay to suffer but withdrew, valuing continued service over martyrdom in that moment.
- Moving to New Ground, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region became new mission fields.
- Persisting in the Task, the gospel was preached there, the same message in a new place.
- Trusting God’s Leading, the flight itself was part of God’s strategy to spread the word further.
Illustration Hooks
- A church planter in a volatile area relocates after death threats but continues the work in a neighboring town, seeing it as a new mission field.
- A family evacuates a city under conflict, then spends years rebuilding their lives and sharing their faith in a new community.
- A teacher stands up for a bullied student, is threatened, and transfers to another school where she continues advocating for students.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Why did God allow the threat to force them out instead of protecting them in Iconium?
- Is it weak or disobedient to flee when I face opposition for my faith?
- How do I know when to stay and endure versus when to leave and continue somewhere else?
Leading a Discussion
Acts 14:5-7 shows that sometimes the most faithful response is not to stand still but to move forward. The apostles faced a violent threat, became aware of it, fled, and continued preaching. This passage challenges us to think about how we respond to danger and what it means to keep the gospel central even when our location changes.
Discussion Questions
- What specific details about the threat do you notice in verse 5? How does the Greek word hormē shape your understanding of what was happening?
- How did the apostles become aware of the plan? What does that tell you about the role of the community that sided with them?
- In verse 6, why do you think Luke emphasizes that they fled to the cities of Lycaonia and the surrounding region? What was gained by this move?
- How does the grammar of verse 7 (the periphrastic imperfect ēsan euangelizomenoi) underscore the continuity of their mission?
- When have you faced a situation where walking away was the wisest course of action for the long-term good of your family, work, or faith? What made that decision hard?
- How can we distinguish between prudent withdrawal and fearful retreat in our own lives? What biblical principles help with that discernment?
- What does this passage teach about the priority of the gospel message over staying in one place?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 2:1 | Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? |
| Psalms 2:3 | “Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.” |
| Psalms 83:5 | For they have conspired together with one mind. They form an alliance against you. |
| Matthew 5:44 | But 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, |
| Luke 6:28 | bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. |
| Acts 4:25 | who by the mouth of your servant David, said, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? |
| Acts 4:29 | Now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, |
| Acts 14:19 | But 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. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke highlights that the assault against Paul and Barnabas was a deliberate, desperate attempt by both pagan and synagogue rulers to publicly humiliate them and falsely charge them with sedition before stoning. He also clarifies that Iconium was indeed within Lycaonia, despite Luke not naming it as such, resolving the apparent inconsistency with ancient geographers.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes focuses on the Greek word behind "assault," noting it means a violent, impulsive rush rather than a planned attack. He describes it as a popular tumult driven by sudden excitement, not a calm, deliberate purpose. The mob's goal was to reproach the apostles and stone them as blasphemers.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin draws a careful distinction: Christian courage does not mean recklessly charging into danger, nor does it mean fleeing from duty. He points out that the apostles withdrew from the mob's fury yet kept preaching the gospel elsewhere. For him, the right kind of fear avoids needless death without ever abandoning obedience to God.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator clarifies that the "assault" was not a direct attack but the Jews' instigation and excitement, which risked turning into mob violence. The term "rulers" is left deliberately vague, and the stoning was a mob outrage, not a formal legal execution. The apostles' flight matches Christ's instruction to flee persecution.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes observe that Paul and Barnabas, aware of the violent plot against them, wisely withdrew to escape harm. Yet their flight did not mean silence: they immediately resumed preaching the gospel in the nearby cities and region, showing that prudence and continued witness can go together.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that Paul and Barnabas fled not primarily for safety but to obey Christ's command and spread the Gospel elsewhere. He also observes that Lystra likely means "city of flocks" and Derbe means "juniper tree," reflecting local abundance. The two did not hide but immediately preached in those cities.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown clarify that the assault was a violent mob movement aimed at stoning, not an actual stoning, since Paul was stoned later at Lystra. They also note the distances to Lystra and Derbe and observe that the absence of a synagogue at Lystra suggests too few Jews lived there to form one.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that even after the Jews of Antioch treated them harshly, the apostles still offered the gospel first to Jews in Iconium. For him, this teaches that no whole group should be condemned for the faults of a few, and that believers should keep doing good even to those who have done them evil.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent argues the Greek word for assault describes an intention that was just starting to take shape, not an actual attack. If a real assault had happened, Luke would not say the apostles became aware of it. He also notes the phrasing for preaching the gospel indicates continuous action over a period of time.