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21 And when, having got away from them, we at last sailed away, we came by a direct course to Cos, and on the morrow to Rhodes, and thence to Patara.

And having found a ship passing over into Phoenicia, we went on board and sailed;

and having sighted Cyprus, and left it on the left hand, we sailed to Syria, and made the land at Tyre, for there the ship was to discharge her cargo.

And having found out the disciples, we remained there seven days; who said to Paul by the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.

But when we had completed the days, we set out and took our journey, all of them accompanying us, with wives and children, till [we were] out of the city. And kneeling down upon the shore we prayed.

And having embraced one another, we went on board ship, and they returned home.

And we, having completed the voyage, arrived from Tyre at Ptolemais, and having saluted the brethren, we remained one day with them.

And leaving on the morrow, we came to Caesarea; and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was of the seven, we abode with him.

Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

10 And as we stayed there many days, a certain man, by name Agabus, a prophet, came down from Judaea,

11 and coming to us and taking the girdle of Paul, and having bound his own hands and feet, said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, The man whose this girdle is shall the Jews thus bind in Jerusalem, and deliver him up into the hands of [the] Gentiles.

12 And when we heard these things, both we and those of the place besought [him] not to go up to Jerusalem.

13 But Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for *I* am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

14 And when he would not be persuaded, we were silent, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

15 And after these days, having got our effects ready, we went up to Jerusalem.

16 And [some] of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing [with them] a certain Mnason, a Cyprian, an old disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

17 And when we arrived at Jerusalem the brethren gladly received us.

18 And on the morrow Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders came there.

19 And having saluted them, he related one by one the things which God had wrought among the nations by his ministry.

20 And they having heard [it] glorified God, and said to him, Thou seest, brother, how many myriads there are of the Jews who have believed, and all are zealous of the law.

21 And they have been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews among the nations apostasy from Moses, saying that they should not circumcise their children, nor walk in the customs.

22 What is it then? a multitude must necessarily come together, for they will hear that thou art come.

23 This do therefore that we say to thee: We have four men who have a vow on them;

24 take these and be purified with them, and pay their expenses, that they may have their heads shaved; and all will know that [of those things] of which they have been informed about thee nothing is [true]; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law.

25 But concerning [those of] the nations who have believed, we have written, deciding that they should [observe no such thing, only to] keep themselves both from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication.

26 Then Paul, taking the men, on the next day, having been purified, entered with them into the temple, signifying the time the days of the purification would be fulfilled, until the offering was offered for every one of them.

27 And when the seven days were nearly completed, the Jews from Asia, having seen him in the temple, set all the crowd in a tumult, and laid hands upon him,

28 crying, Israelites, help! this is the man who teaches all everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place, and has brought Greeks too into the temple, and profaned this holy place.

29 For they had before seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.

30 And the whole city was moved, and there was a concourse of the people; and having laid hold on Paul they drew him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

31 And as they were seeking to kill him, a representation came to the chiliarch of the band that the whole of Jerusalem was in a tumult;

32 who, taking with him immediately soldiers and centurions, ran down upon them. But they, seeing the chiliarch and the soldiers, ceased beating Paul.

33 Then the chiliarch came up and laid hold upon him, and commanded [him] to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he might be, and what he had done.

34 And different persons cried some different thing in the crowd. But he, not being able to know the certainty on account of the uproar, commanded him to be brought into the fortress.

35 But when he got upon the stairs it was so that he was borne by the soldiers on account of the violence of the crowd.

36 For the multitude of the people followed, crying, Away with him.

37 But as he was about to be led into the fortress, Paul says to the chiliarch, Is it allowed me to say something to thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek?

38 Thou art not then that Egyptian who before these days raised a sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the assassins?

39 But Paul said, *I* am a Jew of Tarsus, citizen of no insignificant city of Cilicia, and I beseech of thee, allow me to speak to the people.

40 And when he had allowed him, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people; and a great silence having been made, he addressed them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

On to Jerusalem

21 After we(A) had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia,(B) went on board and set sail. After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria.(C) We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. We sought out the disciples(D) there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit(E) they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.(F) After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

We continued our voyage from Tyre(G) and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters(H) and stayed with them for a day. Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea(I) and stayed at the house of Philip(J) the evangelist,(K) one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.(L)

10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus(M) came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says,(N) ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind(O) the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”(P)

12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die(Q) in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”(R) 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up(S) and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”(T)

15 After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.(U) 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea(V) accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus(W) and one of the early disciples.

Paul’s Arrival at Jerusalem

17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters(X) received us warmly.(Y) 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James,(Z) and all the elders(AA) were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles(AB) through his ministry.(AC)

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(AD) for the law.(AE) 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,(AF) telling them not to circumcise their children(AG) or live according to our customs.(AH) 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.(AI) 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites(AJ) and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.(AK) 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.”(AL)

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.(AM)

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,(AN) 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.”(AO) 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus(AP) the Ephesian(AQ) 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,(AR) they dragged him(AS) 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.(AT)

33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound(AU) with two(AV) chains.(AW) Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another,(AX) and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(AY) 35 When Paul reached the steps,(AZ) 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!”(BA)

Paul Speaks to the Crowd(BB)

37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,(BC) he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness(BD) some time ago?”(BE)

39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus(BF) in Cilicia,(BG) a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”

40 After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned(BH) to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic[a]:(BI)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:40 Or possibly Hebrew; also in 22:2