18 Bible Verses about Riots

Before they laid down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people {to the last man}, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where [are] the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them." But Lot went out to them at the entrance, and he shut the door behind him.read more.
And he said, "No, my brothers, please do not do [such a] wrong [thing]. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Please, let me bring them out to you; then do to them as [it seems] good in your eyes. Only to these men do not do [this] thing, since they came under{ my roof} for protection." But they said, "Step aside!" Then they said, "{This fellow} came to dwell as a foreigner and he acts as a judge! Now we shall do worse to you than them!" And they pressed very hard against the man, against Lot, and they drew near to break the door. Then the men reached out [with] their hands and brought Lot in to them, into the house, and they shut the door. And the men who [were] at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they were unable to find the entrance.

And the men of the city said to Jehoash, "Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that [was] beside it." But Jehoash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Will you rescue him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by the morning. If he [is] a god, let him contend for himself because {his altar has been pulled down}."

{And then} as Jeremiah finished speaking all that Yahweh had commanded [him] to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, {saying}, "You will die! Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh, {saying}, 'This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be in ruins, {without} inhabitant'?" And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the temple of Yahweh. When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the house of the king [to] the temple of Yahweh, and they sat in the entrance of the New Gate of Yahweh's [temple].read more.
Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, {saying}, "{This man deserves the death sentence}, because he has prophesied against this city as that [which] you have heard with your ears."

And all [those] in the synagogue were filled with anger [when they] heard these [things]. And they stood up [and] forced him out of the town and brought him up to the edge of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But he passed through their midst [and] went on his way.

Now there happened at that time no little disturbance concerning the Way. For someone {named} Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen. {These} he gathered together, and the workers occupied with such things, [and] said, "Men, you know that from this business {we get our prosperity},read more.
and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded [and] turned away a large crowd [by] saying that the [gods] made by hands are not gods. So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours [will] come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis [will] be regarded as nothing--and [she] is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, [she] whom the whole [of] Asia and the [entire] world worship!" And [when they] heard [this] and became full of rage, they began to shout, saying, "Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians!" And the city was filled with the tumult, and with one purpose they rushed into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians [who were] traveling companions of Paul. But [when] Paul wanted to enter into the popular assembly, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs who were his friends sent [word] to him [and] were urging [him] not to risk himself [by going] into the theater. So some were shouting [one thing] [and] some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know {why} they had assembled. And [some] of the crowd advised Alexander, [when] the Jews put him forward. But Alexander, motioning [with his] hand, was wanting to defend himself to the popular assembly. But [when they] recognized that he was a Jew, they were shouting with one voice from all [of them] for about two hours, "Great [is] Artemis of the Ephesians!"

in beatings, in prisons, in disturbances, in troubles, in sleepless nights, in going hungry,

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Barabbas and put Jesus to death. So the governor answered [and] said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then should I do [with] Jesus, the one who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!"read more.
And he said, "Why? What wrong has he done?" But they began to shout even louder, saying, "Let him be crucified!" So Pilate, [when he] saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but instead an uproar was developing, took water [and] washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this man. You see to [it]!"

Now at each feast he customarily released for them one prisoner whom they requested. And the one named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder in the rebellion. And the crowd came up [and] began to ask him to do as he customarily did for them.read more.
So Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?" (For he realized that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.) But the chief priests incited the crowd so that he would release for them Barabbas instead. So Pilate answered [and] said to them again, "Then what do you want me to do with [the one] whom you call the king of the Jews?" And they shouted again, "Crucify him!" And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted even louder, "Crucify him!" So Pilate, [because he] wanted {to satisfy} the crowd, released for them Barabbas. And [after] he had Jesus flogged, he handed [him] over so that he could be crucified.

Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. But some of those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen ({as it was called}), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up [and] disputed with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.read more.
Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God!" And they incited the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came up [and] seized him and brought [him] to the Sanhedrin. And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man does not stop speaking words against the holy place and the law! For we have heard him saying that this Nazarene Jesus will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed down to us."

But the Jews were filled with jealousy and, taking along some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace and forming a mob, threw the city into an uproar. And attacking Jason's house, they were looking for them to bring [them] out to the popular assembly. And [when they] did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city officials, shouting, "These [people] who have stirred up trouble [throughout] the world have come here also, whom Jason has entertained as guests! And these [people] [are] all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus!"read more.
And they threw the crowd into confusion, and the city officials who heard these [things]. And [after] taking money as security from Jason and the rest, they released them.

But when the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia who had seen him in the temple [courts] stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, shouting, "Israelite men, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place! And furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!" (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they thought that Paul had brought into the temple.)read more.
And the whole city was stirred up, and the people came running together, and they seized Paul [and] dragged him outside of the temple [courts], and immediately the doors were shut. And [as they] were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the military tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. {He} immediately took along soldiers and centurions [and] ran down to them. And [when] they saw the military tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the military tribune came up [and] arrested him and ordered [him] to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what it was that he had done. But some in the crowd were shouting one thing [and] others [another], and [because] he was not able to find out the truth on account of the commotion, he gave orders to bring him into the barracks. And when he came to the steps, it happened that he had to be carried by the soldiers on account of the violence of the crowd,

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas, and plotted in order that they could arrest Jesus by stealth and kill [him]. But they were saying, "Not during the feast, so that there will not be an uproar among the people."

Now after two days it was the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how, [after] arresting him by stealth, they could kill [him]. For they said, "Not at the feast, lest there be an uproar by the people."

And [when] the city secretary had quieted the crowd, he said, "Ephesian men, for who is there among men who does not know the Ephesian city is honorary temple keeper of the great Artemis and of [her] image fallen from heaven? Therefore [because] these [things] are undeniable, it is necessary [that] you be quiet and do nothing rash! For you have brought these men [here] [who are] neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.read more.
If then Demetrius and the craftsmen [who are] with him have a complaint against anyone, the court days are observed and there are proconsuls--let them bring charges against one another! But if you desire anything further, it will be settled in the lawful assembly. For indeed we are in danger of being accused of rioting concerning today, [since there] is no cause in relation to which we will be able to give an account concerning this disorderly gathering!" And [when he] had said these [things], he dismissed the assembly.

For we have found this man [to be] a public menace and one who causes riots among all the Jews throughout the Roman Empire and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, who even attempted to desecrate the temple, and we arrested {him}. [When] you yourself examine [him] you will be able to find out from {him} about all these [things] of which we are accusing him."read more.
And the Jews also joined in the attack, asserting these [things] were so. And [when] the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, "[Because I] know you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I defend myself cheerfully [with respect to] the things concerning myself. You can ascertain that {it has not been more than} twelve days {since} I went up to Jerusalem to worship. And neither did they find me arguing with anyone or making a crowd develop in the temple [courts] nor in the synagogues nor throughout the city.

Let us live decently, as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and licentiousness, not in strife and jealousy.

The night is far gone, and the day has drawn near. Therefore let us throw off the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light.

being harmed [as the] wages of unrighteousness. Considering reveling in the daytime a pleasure, [they are] stains and blemishes, carousing in their deceitful pleasures [when they] feast together with you,