Acts 16:20When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men, being Jews, are agitating our city,
The setting
Philippi, Macedonia (modern Greece), ~50 AD. The Roman marketplace buzzing with angry merchants who lost income when Paul freed a fortune-telling slave girl...
The emotion here: calculated rage using prejudice as a weapon
The original word
tarassō (ταράσσω) — to stir up, agitate like sediment in water
Why it matters
Philippi was a Roman colony where citizens took pride in their Roman identity, making anti-Jewish sentiment politically powerful
Read with care
What most readers miss in Acts 16:20
The accusers don't mention the real reason they're angry — they lost their money-making fortune teller
Common misconceptionPeople think this was religious persecution, but it was actually economic revenge disguised as patriotic concern. The slave owners lost their income source.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Acts 16:20
Bible Genome reading
Acts 16:20 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Acts 16:20 comes from the book of Acts, written during the early_church period. These words are attributed to accusers. The dominant emotion in this verse is angry, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is commanding. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include false accusation, prejudice. Notable phrases: being Jews; agitating our city.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same angry
“Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'”
— Joel 3:10
“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!”
— Matthew 23:24
“Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husba…”
— Amos 4:1
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can't stand your solemn assemblies.”
— Amos 5:21
“Your eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
— Deuteronomy 19:21
Your reflection
What does Acts 16:20 mean to you, today?
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