Paul Goes to Jerusalem

21 After we ·all said good-bye to [tore ourselves away from] them, we sailed ·straight [a straight course] to the island of Cos [^Cbetween Ephesus and Rhodes]. The next day we reached Rhodes [^Can island off the southwest Coast of Asia Minor], and from there we went to Patara [^Ca seaport on the southwest coast of Asia Minor]. ² There we found a ship ·going [crossing over] to Phoenicia [^Ca coastal region north of Israel; present-day Lebanon], so we went aboard and sailed away. ³ We sailed near the island of Cyprus [11:19], ·seeing [^Lleaving] it to the ·north [^Lleft], but we sailed on to Syria. We ·stopped [landed] at Tyre [12:20] because the ship needed to unload its cargo there. ⁴ We ·found [sought out] some ·followers [disciples] in Tyre and stayed with them for seven days. Through the ·Holy Spirit [^LSpirit] they ·warned [or kept warning] Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ⁵ When ·we finished our visit [^Lour days there were finished], we left and continued our trip. All ·the followers [^Lof them], even the women and children, came outside the city with us. After we all knelt on the beach and prayed, ⁶ we said good-bye and got on the ship, and ·the followers [^Lthey] went back home.

⁷ We ·continued [or finished] our trip from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais [^Ca town on the Mediterranean coast about half way between Tyre and Caesarea, also known as Acco], where we greeted the ·believers [^Lbrothers (and sisters)] and stayed with them for a day. ⁸ The next day we left Ptolemais and went to the city of Caesarea [10:1]. There we went into the home of Philip the ·preacher [or evangelist], one of the ·seven helpers [^LSeven; 6:1–6; 8:4–40], and stayed with him. ⁹ He had four ·unmarried [^Lvirgin] daughters who ·had the gift of prophesying [^Lprophesied]. ¹⁰ After we had been there for ·some time [^Lmany days], a prophet named Agabus [11:27–28] ·arrived [^Lcame down] from Judea. ¹¹ He came to us and ·borrowed [took] Paul’s belt and used it to tie his own hands and feet. He said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will ·tie up [or bind (in chains)] the man ·who wears this belt [^Lwhose belt this is]. Then they will ·give [deliver; hand over; betray] him to the Gentiles.’”

¹² When we all heard this, we and the people there ·begged [encouraged; urged; pleaded with] Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ¹³ But he ·said [^Lresponded], “Why are you crying and ·making me so sad [^Lbreaking my heart]? I am not only ready to be ·tied up [or bound; imprisoned] in Jerusalem, I am ready to die for the [^Lname of the] Lord Jesus!”

¹⁴ We could not ·persuade him to stay away from Jerusalem [^Lpersuade/convince him]. So we ·stopped begging him [^Lremained silent] and said, “·We pray that what the Lord wants will [^LLet the Lord’s will] be done.”

¹⁵ After ·this [^Lthese days], we ·got ready [made preparations; packed our bags] and ·started on our way [^Lwent up] to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the ·followers [disciples] from Caesarea went with us and took us to the home of Mnason, where we would stay. He was from Cyprus and was one of the ·first [or early; or original] ·followers [disciples].

Paul Visits James

¹⁷ [^LArriving] In Jerusalem the ·believers [^Lbrothers (and sisters)] ·were glad to see us [welcomed us warmly]. ¹⁸ The next day Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders [14:23] were there. ¹⁹ Paul greeted them and ·told [recounted for] them ·everything [or in detail what; or one by one the things] God had done among the ·other nations [Gentiles] through ·him [^Lhis ministry/service]. ²⁰ When they heard this, they ·praised [gave glory to] God. Then they said to ·Paul [^Lhim], “Brother, you can see that many thousands of ·our people [^Lthe Jews] have become believers [2:41, 47; 4:4]. And they ·think it is very important to obey [^Lare passionate about; are zealots for] ·the law of Moses [^Lthe Law]. ²¹ They have ·heard [been informed] about your teaching, that you tell ·our people [^Lthe Jews] who live among the ·nations [Gentiles] to ·leave the law of Moses [^Lforsake/abandon Moses]. They have heard that you tell them not to circumcise their children and not to ·obey [observe; ^Lwalk in] our ·customs [or traditional way of life]. ²² What [^Lthen; therefore] should we do? They will [^Lsurely] ·learn [hear] that you have come. ²³ So ·we will tell you what to do [^Ldo what we say]: Four of our men have made a ·promise to God [^Lvow]. ²⁴ Take these men with you and share in their ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification]. Pay their expenses so they can shave their heads [^Ca ritual that indicates the end of a Nazirite’s vows; Num. 6:13–20]. Then ·it will prove to everyone [^Leveryone will know] that what they have heard about you is not true and that you ·follow [^Lindeed keep/observe] the law of Moses in your own life. ²⁵ We have already sent a letter [^Lwith our judgment/decision] to the Gentile believers [^Cthe decision of the council of Jerusalem; 15:6–21]. The letter said: ‘Do not eat food that has been offered to idols, or blood, or animals that have been strangled. Do not take part in sexual sin [15:20].’”

²⁶ The next day Paul took the four men and shared in the ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification] with them. Then he went to the Temple and announced the time when the days of the ·cleansing ceremony [ritual purification] would be finished and an ·offering [sacrifice] would be ·given [offered] for each of the men.

²⁷ When the seven days were almost over [^Cthe period of time for purification; Num. 19:12], some of ·his people [^Lthe Jews] from [^Cthe province of] Asia saw Paul at the Temple. They ·caused all the people to be upset [stirred up/incited the whole crowd] and grabbed Paul. ²⁸ They shouted, “·People of Israel [^LMen, Israelites], help us! This is the man who goes everywhere teaching against our people [^CIsrael], against ·the law of Moses [^Lthe Law], and against this ·Temple [^Lplace]. Now he has brought some Greeks into the Temple and has ·made this holy place unclean [defiled this holy place]!” ²⁹ (They said this because they had seen Trophimus [20:4; 2 Tim. 4:20], ·a man from Ephesus [^Lthe Ephesian], with Paul in ·Jerusalem [^Lthe city]. They ·thought [supposed; assumed] that Paul had brought him into the Temple [^CGod-fearing Gentiles were only allowed in the outer courtyard, known as the “court of the Gentiles”].)

³⁰ ·All the people in Jerusalem [^LThe whole city] became ·upset [aroused]. Together they ·ran [or rushed together; came running], took Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple. The Temple doors were closed immediately. ³¹ While they were trying to kill ·Paul [^Lhim], the ·commander of the Roman army in Jerusalem [^Ltribune/commander of the regiment; ^Ca tribune (Greek: chiliarch) oversaw about a thousand soldiers] ·learned [received the report] that ·there was trouble in the whole city [^Lall Jerusalem was in confusion/an uproar]. ³² Immediately he took some ·officers and soldiers [^Lsoldiers and centurions; ^Ccenturions oversaw about a hundred soldiers] and ran to the place where the crowd was gathered. When the people saw ·them [^Lthe tribune and the soldiers], they stopped beating Paul. ³³ The ·commander [tribune] went to Paul and arrested him. He told his soldiers to ·bind [shackle] Paul with two chains. Then he ·asked [inquired about] who he was and what he had done wrong. ³⁴ Some in the crowd were yelling one thing, and some were yelling another. Because of all this ·confusion and shouting [uproar; noise; tumult], the commander could not learn ·what had happened [the truth/facts]. So he ordered the soldiers to take Paul to the ·army building [barracks; ^Cprobably the Roman garrison known as the Antonia fortress, overlooking the temple from the north]. ³⁵ When ·Paul [^Lhe] came to the steps [^Cleading up to the Antonia fortress], the soldiers had to carry him because ·the people were ready to hurt him [^Lof the violence of the mob/crowd]. ³⁶ [^LFor] The whole mob was following them, shouting, “·Kill [or Away with] him!”

³⁷ As ·the soldiers [^Lthey] were about to take Paul into the ·army building [barracks], he spoke to the ·commander [tribune], “May I say something to you?”

·The commander [^LHe] said, “Do you speak Greek? ³⁸ ·I thought you were [^LAre you not…?] the Egyptian who started ·some trouble against the government [a revolt; an insurrection] ·not long ago [or some time ago; ^Caccording to the Jewish historian Josephus, the event occurred about three years prior to this] and led four thousand ·killers [terrorists; cut-throats; ^Lof the sicarii; ^CJosephus identifies sicarii (“dagger-men”) as assassins who mingled with crowds and used daggers to murder Romans and their collaborators] out to the desert.”

³⁹ Paul said, “No, I am a Jew from Tarsus [9:11] in the ·country [province] of Cilicia [6:9]. I am a citizen of that ·important [^Lnot insignificant] city. ·Please [^LI beg/urge you], let me speak to the people.”

⁴⁰ ·The commander [^LHe] gave permission, so Paul stood on the steps and ·waved [signaled/gestured with] ·his hand to quiet the people [^Lhis hand]. When there was silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language [^Cprobably Aramaic; the biblical writers do not distinguish between these related languages, calling both “Hebrew”].