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Read the Bible
THE MESSAGE
Acts 14:13
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalDevotionals:
- EveryParallel Translations
The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice.
Then the priest of Iupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen, and garlands vnto the gates, and would haue done sacrifice with the people.
Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
Moreover, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
The priest in the temple of Zeus, which was near the city, brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. He and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.
The priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance of the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates, and wanted to offer sacrifices with the crowds.
The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and was wanting to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.
The temple of Zeus was near the entrance to the city. Its priest and the crowds wanted to offer a sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul. So the priest brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates.
and the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, intending to offer a sacrifice to them with the people.
And the priest of Jupiter who was before the city, having brought bulls and garlands to the gates, would have done sacrifice along with the crowds.
The temple of Zeus was near the city. The priest of this temple brought some bulls and flowers to the city gates. The priest and the people wanted to offer a sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas.
Then Iupiters priest, which was before their citie, brought bulles with garlands vnto the gates, & would haue sacrificed with the people.
Then the priest of the chief of gods whose shrine was outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gate of the courtyard where they stayed, and he wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
The priest of the god Zeus, whose temple stood just outside the town, brought bulls and flowers to the gate, for he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice to the apostles.
And the priest of the temple of Zeus that was just outside the city brought bulls and garlands to the gates and was wanting to offer sacrifice, along with the crowds.
And the priest of Zeus being before their city, carrying bulls and garlands to the gates, he wished to sacrifice along with the crowds.
And the priest of Jupiter whose temple was before the city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the multitudes.
And the priest of the image of Jupiter, which was before the town, took oxen and flowers to the doors of the town, and was about to make an offering with the people.
The Kohen of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice with the multitudes.
The priest of the temple of Zeus, which was just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates. He and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices.Daniel 2:46;">[xr]
And the priest of the lord of the gods, who was without the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates of the court of the place where they dwelt, and willed to sacrifice to them.
And the priest of the Lord of the Gods, who was without the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gate of the court where they lodged, and was disposed to offer sacrifices to them.
Then Iupiters priest, which was before their citie, brought oxen and garlandes vnto the doore, and woulde haue done sacrifice with the people.
And the priest of Jupiter whose temple was before the city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the multitudes.
The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice with the multitudes.
Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates, and with the multitude, would have sacrificed.
And the priest of Zeus--the temple of Zeus being at the entrance to the city--brought bullocks and garlands to the gates, and in company with the crowd was intending to offer sacrifices to them.
And the preest of Jubiter that was bifor the citee, brouyte boolis and crownes bifor the yatis, with puplis, and wolde haue maad sacrifice.
And the priest of Jupiter whose [temple] was before the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have sacrificed with the multitudes.
Then the priest of Jupiter, who was before their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
The priest of the temple of Zeus, located just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes.
Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.
The god of Jupiter was in a building near the gate leading into the city. The religious leader of that place brought cattle and flowers to the gate. He and many other people wanted to burn these as gifts in an act of worship to Paul and Barnabas.
The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice.
Also, the priest of the Jupiter that was before the city, bringing bulls and garlands unto the gates, with the multitudes, would have offered sacrifice.
(14-12) The priest also of Jupiter that was before the city, bringing oxen and garlands before the gate, would have offered sacrifice with the people.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the people.
Then Iupiters Preste which dwelt before their cite brought oxe and garlondes vnto the churche porche and wolde have done sacrifise with the people.
And the priest of the Zeus that is before their city, oxen and garlands unto the porches having brought, with the multitudes did wish to sacrifice,
But Iupiters prest which dwelt before their cite, broughte oxen and garlandes before the gate, and wolde haue done sacrifice with the people.
even the priest of Jupiter, whose statue was at the city-gates, brought oxen and garlands there, and together with the people, would have offer'd sacrifice to the apostles.
The temple of Zeus was just outside of town. The priests there got some bulls and flowers and started preparing a sacrifice and a shindig in honor of the two cowboys.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
and would: Acts 10:25, Daniel 2:46
Reciprocal: Proverbs 7:22 - as an Mark 14:63 - his Acts 16:18 - being Acts 19:35 - Jupiter
Cross-References
Joseph was served at his private table, the brothers off by themselves and the Egyptians off by themselves (Egyptians won't eat at the same table with Hebrews; it's repulsive to them). The brothers were seated facing Joseph, arranged in order of their age, from the oldest to the youngest. They looked at one another wide-eyed, wondering what would happen next. When the brothers' plates were served from Joseph's table, Benjamin's plate came piled high, far more so than his brothers. And so the brothers feasted with Joseph, drinking freely.
Time passed. Moses grew up. One day he went and saw his brothers, saw all that hard labor. Then he saw an Egyptian hit a Hebrew—one of his relatives! He looked this way and then that; when he realized there was no one in sight, he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
Israel sent emissaries to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying, "Let us cross your land. We won't trespass into your fields or drink water in your vineyards. We'll keep to the main road, the King's Road, until we're through your land."
Immediately, a Benjaminite raced from the front lines back to Shiloh. Shirt torn and face smeared with dirt, he entered the town. Eli was sitting on his stool beside the road keeping vigil, for he was extremely worried about the Chest of God. When the man ran straight into town to tell the bad news, everyone wept. They were appalled. Eli heard the loud wailing and asked, "Why this uproar?" The messenger hurried over and reported. Eli was ninety-eight years old then, and blind. The man said to Eli, "I've just come from the front, barely escaping with my life." "And so, my son," said Eli, "what happened?"
He told them, "I'm a Hebrew. I worship God , the God of heaven who made sea and land."
Pseudo-Servants of God Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much—this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot "apostles," why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are. It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything. I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the believers from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do. I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I'm not changing my position on this. I'd die before taking your money. I'm giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing "preachers," vaunting themselves as something special. They're a sorry bunch—pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers—posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end. Let me come back to where I started—and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down—even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff. Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.)
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city,.... Not that the priest was before the city, but Jupiter; and the phrase denotes either his presidency over the city, and so the Arabic version renders it, "who was the chief god of their city"; or the place where his image stood, which was out of the city, and so may be said to be before it; accordingly the Syriac version renders it, "who was without the city"; he who officiated as priest to him:
brought oxen and garlands unto the gates; either "of the city", as the Arabic and Ethiopic versions add, where was the statue of Jupiter; or else, and which is most likely, he brought them to the gates of the house, where Paul and Barnabas were; and to this sense the Syriac version renders it, "to the door of the dwelling place where they abode": what the oxen were brought for is easy to conceive, had it not been expressed; but for what should garlands or crowns be brought? These were used in sacrifices, for different purposes; sometimes they crowned the gods t, to whom they sacrificed, and these might be brought to be put upon the heads of Paul and Barnabas; and sometimes the priests wore them u, and which seems to be in imitation of the mitre, wore by the high priest among the Jews; and sometimes even those who came to sacrifice, and implore the assistance of their deities, wore them w; likewise the altars on which they offered sacrifice were crowned with these garlands x; and the sacrifices themselves, and which last seems to be the case here: the garlands were brought to be put upon the oxen; and these were for the most part made of cypress; sometimes of the pine tree, and sometimes of other leaves and flowers, such as were peculiar to the gods y: and there was something like this among the Jews, at the offerings of their first fruits, which were done in this manner z;
"they that were nearest (to Jerusalem) brought green figs and grapes; and they that were more remote brought dried figs and raisins; and an ox went before them, whose horns were covered with gold, ועטרת של זית, "and a crown of olives" on his head; a pipe sounded before them, till they came near to Jerusalem, and then they sent some before them, who "crowned" their first fruits.''
And would have done sacrifice with the people; that is, the priest and the people with him, would have offered sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, as to two deities; and the Syriac and Ethiopic versions add, "to them"; to both the apostles, with which agrees the Arabic version.
t Baruch vi. 9. Justin. Apolog. 2. p. 57. Tertull. de Corona, c. 10. Alex. ab. Alex. Gen. dier. l. 4. c. 17. u Tertull. de Idolatria, c. 18. Alex. ab. Alex. ib. Paschalius de Coronis. l. 4. c. 13. w Paschal. ib. x Ovid de Tristibus, l. 3. eleg. 13. y Paschal. ib. c. 16. z Misn. Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Then the priest of Jupiter - He whose office it was to conduct the worship of Jupiter by offering sacrifices, etc.
Which was before their city - The word “which” here refers not to the priest, but to Jupiter. The temple or image of Jupiter was in front of their city, or near the gates. Ancient cities were supposed to be under the protection of particular gods; and their image, or a temple for their worship, was placed commonly in a conspicuous place at the entrance of the city.
Brought oxen - Probably brought two one to be sacrificed to each. It was common to sacrifice bullocks to Jupiter.
And garlands - The victims of sacrifice were usually decorated with ribbons and chaplets of flowers. See Kuinoel.
Unto the gates - The gates of the city, where were the images or temple of the gods.
Would have done sacrifice - Would have offered sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul. This the priest deemed a part of his office. And here we have a remarkable and most affecting instance of the folly and stupidity of idolatry.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Acts 14:13. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city] There is a meaning here, which ordinary readers will not readily apprehend. Many cities were put under the protection of a particular deity; and the image of that deity placed at the entrance, to signify that he was the guardian and protector. To this St. Luke, every where as accurate as he is circumstantial, refers. Lystra, it appears, was under the guardianship of Jupiter Propulaius, διος προπυλαιου, which St. Luke translates, του διος οντος της πολεως, the Jupiter that was before the city, which is another term for Jupiter Custos, or Jupiter the guardian. All these deities, according to the attributes they sustained, had their peculiar priests, rites, and sacrifices; and each a peculiar service and priest for the office he bore; so that Jupiter Brontes, Jupiter the thunderer, had a different service from Jupiter Custos, Jove the guardian. Hence we can see with what accuracy St. Luke wrote: the person who was going to offer them sacrifices was the priest of Jupiter Custos, under whose guardianship the city of Lystra was, and whom the priest supposed had visited the city in a human form; and Barnabas, probably for the reasons already assigned, he imagined was the person; and as Mercury, the god of eloquence, was the general attendant of Jupiter, the people and the priest supposed that Paul, who had a powerful, commanding eloquence, was that god, also disguised. A beautiful figure of such an image of Jupiter as, I suppose, stood before the gate of Lystra, still remains; and a fine engraving of it may be seen in Gruter's Inscriptions, vol. i. p. xx. Jupiter is represented naked, sitting on a curule or consular chair; in his right hand he holds his thunder, and a long staff in his left; at his right, stands the eagle prepared for flight; and, above, the winged cap and caduceus of Mercury. On the base is the inscription, IUPPITER CUSTOM DOMUS AUG. Jupiter, the guardian of the house of Augustus. As the preserver or guardian of towns, he was generally styled Jupiter Custos, Serenus and Servator. His name, JUPITER, i.e. jurans pater, the helping father, entitled him, in those days of darkness, to general regard. On this false god, who long engrossed the worship of even the most enlightened nations on the earth, much may be seen in Lactantius, Divinar. Institution. lib. i., in the Antiquite expliquee of Montfaucon; and various inscriptions, relative to his character as guardian, c., may be seen in Gruter, as above.
Oxen and garlands — That is, oxen adorned with flowers, their horns gilded, and neck bound about with fillets, as was the custom in sacrificial rites. They also crowned the gods themselves, the priests, and gates of the temples, with flowers. Of this method of adorning the victims, there are numerous examples in the Greek and Latin writers. A few may suffice. Thus OVID:-
Victima labe carens et praestantissima forma
Sistitur ante aras et vittis praesignis et auro.
OVID, Met. lib. xv. ver. 130.
The fairest victim must the powers appease,
So fatal 'tis sometimes too much to please:
A purple filet his broad brow adorns
With flowery garlands, crown, and gilded horns.
DRYDEN.
Huic Anius niveis circumdata tempora vittis
Concutiens, et tristis ait;__________
Ibid. lib. xiii. ver. 643.
The royal prophet shook his hoary head,
With fillets bound; and, sighing, thus he said___
CALCOTT.
________________________fovet ignibus aras,
Muneribus deos implet: feriuntque secures
Colla torosa boum vinctorum cornua vittis.
Ibid. lib. vii. ver. 427.
Rich curling fumes of incense feast the skies,
A hecatomb of voted victims dies,
With gilded horns, and garlands on their head,
In all the pomp of death to th' altar led.
TATE.
VIRGIL also refers to the same rites and circumstances: -
Saepe in honore deum medio stans hostia ad aram
Lanea dum nivea circumdatur infula vitta,
Inter cunctantes cecidit moribunda ministros.
VIRG. Georg. lib. iii. ver. 486.
The victim ox that was for altars pressed,
Trimmed with white ribbons, and with garlands dressed,
Sunk of himself, without the god's command,
Preventing the slow sacrificer's hand.
DRYDEN.
Many similar examples may be seen in Wetstein and others.
At the time of worship, the Hindoo priests place garlands of flowers on the head of the image. Whether the garlands were intended to decorate the oxen or the apostles, we cannot say; but in either case the conduct of the Lycaonians was conformable to that of the modern Hindoos.
