17 (A)And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to (B)James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, (C)he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles (D)through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all (E)zealous for the law; 21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 [a]What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may (F)shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, (G)we have written and decided [b]that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from [c]sexual immorality.”

Arrested in the Temple

26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, (H)entered the temple (I)to announce the [d]expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

27 Now when the seven days were almost ended, (J)the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and (K)laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man (L)who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 (For they had [e]previously seen (M)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

30 And (N)all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. 31 Now as they were (O)seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the [f]garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 (P)He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the (Q)commander came near and took him, and (R)commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another.

So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. 35 When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. 36 For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, (S)“Away with him!”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:22 NU What then is to be done? They will certainly hear
  2. Acts 21:25 NU omits that they should observe no such thing, except
  3. Acts 21:25 fornication
  4. Acts 21:26 completion
  5. Acts 21:29 M omits previously
  6. Acts 21:31 cohort

Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem

17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters(A) received us warmly.(B) 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,(C) and all the elders(D) were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles(E) through his ministry.(F)

20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous(G) for the law.(H) 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,(I) telling them not to circumcise their children(J) or live according to our customs.(K) 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.(L) 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites(M) and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.(N) Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”(O)

26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.(P)

Paul Arrested

27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,(Q) 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”(R) 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus(S) the Ephesian(T) in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul,(U) they dragged him(V) from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.(W)

33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound(X) with two(Y) chains.(Z) Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,(AA) and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(AB) 35 When Paul reached the steps,(AC) the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”(AD)

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