Acts 21
Legacy Standard Bible
Paul Sets Out for Jerusalem
21 Now when (A)we had parted from them and had set sail, we came by (B)a straight course to Cos and the next day to Rhodes and from there to Patara; 2 and having found a ship crossing over to (C)Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 And when we came in sight of (D)Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to (E)Syria and landed at (F)Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 And after looking up (G)the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul (H)through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. 5 And when [a]our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, (I)escorted us until we were out of the city. After (J)kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. 6 Then we went on board the ship, and they returned (K)home again.
7 And when we had finished the voyage from (L)Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting (M)the brothers, we stayed with them for a day. 8 And on the next day we left and came to (N)Caesarea, and entering the house of (O)Philip the (P)evangelist, who was (Q)one of the seven, we stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who (R)prophesied. 10 And as we were staying there for some days, a prophet named (S)Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he (T)took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This (U)is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will (V)bind the man who owns this belt and (W)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 And when we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him (X)not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, crying and breaking my heart? For (Y)I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for (Z)the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, saying, “(AA)The will of the Lord be done!”
15 Now after these days we got ready and (AB)started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of (AC)the disciples from (AD)Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of (AE)Cyprus, an (AF)early disciple with whom we were to lodge.
In Jerusalem
17 And after we arrived in Jerusalem, (AG)the brothers welcomed us gladly. 18 And the following day Paul went in with us to (AH)James, and all (AI)the elders were present. 19 And after he had greeted them, he (AJ)began to relate one by one the things which God did among the Gentiles through his (AK)ministry. 20 And when they heard it they began (AL)glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many [b]thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all (AM)zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are (AN)teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them (AO)not to circumcise their children nor to [c]walk according to (AP)the customs. 22 What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who [d](AQ)are under a vow; 24 take them and (AR)purify yourself along with them, and [e]pay their expenses so that they may (AS)shave their [f]heads. Then all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, (AT)having decided that they should keep from [g]meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul [h]took the men, and the next day, (AU)purifying himself along with them, (AV)went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.
Paul Is Arrested
27 Now when (AW)the seven days were almost over, (AX)the Jews from [i](AY)Asia, upon noticing him in the temple, began to throw all the crowd into confusion and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! (AZ)This is the man who teaches to everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has (BA)defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen (BB)Trophimus the (BC)Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred, and [j]the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they (BD)dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. 31 While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the [k]commander of the (BE)Roman [l]cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 At once he (BF)took along soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be (BG)bound with (BH)two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. 34 But among the crowd (BI)some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the [m]facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into (BJ)the barracks. 35 And when he got to (BK)the stairs, he actually was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd; 36 for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “(BL)Away with him!”
Paul’s Defense Before the Jews
37 As Paul was about to be brought into (BM)the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not (BN)the Egyptian who some [n]time ago raised a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out (BO)into the wilderness?” 39 But Paul said, “(BP)I am a Jew of Tarsus in (BQ)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on (BR)the stairs, (BS)motioned to the people with his hand; and when there [o]was a great hush, he spoke to them in the (BT)Hebrew language, saying,
Footnotes
- Acts 21:5 Lit we had completed the days
- Acts 21:20 Lit ten thousands
- Acts 21:21 Observe or live by
- Acts 21:23 Lit have a vow on them
- Acts 21:24 Lit spend on them
- Acts 21:24 Lit head
- Acts 21:25 Lit the thing
- Acts 21:26 Or took the men the next day, and purifying himself
- Acts 21:27 West coast province of Asia Minor
- Acts 21:30 Lit a running together of the people occurred
- Acts 21:31 Military leader over 1,000 soldiers
- Acts 21:31 Normally 600 men (the number varied); or battalion
- Acts 21:34 Lit certainty
- Acts 21:38 Lit days
- Acts 21:40 Lit occurred
Acts 21
Christian Standard Bible
Warnings on the Journey to Jerusalem
21 After(A) we tore ourselves away from them, we set sail straight for Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail. 3 After we sighted Cyprus, passing to the south of it,[a] we sailed on to Syria and arrived at Tyre, since the ship was to unload its cargo there. 4 We sought out the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem.(B) 5 When our time had come to an end, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray, 6 we said farewell to one another and boarded the ship, and they returned home.
7 When we completed our voyage[b] from Tyre, we reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day.(C) 8 The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip(D) the evangelist,(E) who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.(F)
10 After we had been there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him over to the Gentiles.’”(G) 12 When we heard this, both we and the local people pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”(H)
14 Since he would not be persuaded, we said no more except, “The Lord’s will be done.”(I)
Conflict over the Gentile Mission
15 After this we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.(J)
17 When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters welcomed us warmly.(K) 18 The following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.(L) 19 After greeting them, he reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.(M)
20 When they heard it, they glorified God and said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous(N) for the law. 21 But they have been informed about you—that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to live according to our customs.(O) 22 So what is to be done?[c] They will certainly hear that you’ve come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to get their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to nothing, but that you yourself are also careful about observing the law.(P) 25 With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter containing our decision that[d] they should keep themselves from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
The Riot in the Temple
26 So the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along with them, and entered the temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the offering would be made for each of them.(Q) 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him,(R) 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”(S) 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.(T)
30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.(U)
31 As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos. 32 Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains.(V) He asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since he was not able to get reliable information because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks.(W) 35 When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mass of people followed, yelling, “Get rid of him!” (X)
Paul’s Defense before the Jerusalem Mob
37 As he was about to be brought into the barracks, Paul said to the commander, “Am I allowed to say something to you?”
He replied, “You know how to speak Greek? 38 Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led four thousand men of the Assassins into the wilderness?” (Y)
39 Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia,(Z) a citizen of an important city. Now I ask you, let me speak to the people.”
40 After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in Aramaic:[e](AA)
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