Acts 21
American Standard Version
21 And when it came to pass that we were parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2 and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail. 3 And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4 And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem. 5 And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey; and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell; 6 and we went on board the ship, but they returned home again.
7 And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 8 And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. 10 And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11 And coming to us, and taking Paul’s girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. 12 And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
15 And after these days we [a]took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. 16 And there went with us also certain of the disciples from Caesarea, [b]bringing with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.
17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. 19 And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And they, when they heard it, glorified God; and they said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many [c]thousands there are among the Jews of them that have believed; and they are all zealous for the law: 21 and they have been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. 22 What is it therefore? they will certainly hear that thou art come. 23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men that have a vow on them; 24 these take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges for them, that they may shave their heads: and all shall know that there is no truth in the things whereof they have been informed concerning thee; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law. 25 But as touching the Gentiles that have believed, we [d]wrote, giving judgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication. 26 Then Paul [e]took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.
27 And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place. 29 For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple. 30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut. 31 And as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the [f]chief captain of the [g]band, that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 And forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and they, when they saw the [h]chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating Paul. 33 Then the [i]chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done. 34 And some shouted one thing, some another, among the crowd: and when he could not know the certainty for the uproar, he commanded him to be brought into the castle. 35 And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the crowd; 36 for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, Away with him.
37 And as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith unto the [j]chief captain, May I say something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek? 38 Art thou not then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins? 39 But Paul said, I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the people. 40 And when he had given him leave, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with the hand unto the people; and when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, saying,
Footnotes
- Acts 21:15 Or, made ready
- Acts 21:16 Or, bringing us to one Mnason etc.
- Acts 21:20 Greek myriads.
- Acts 21:25 Or, enjoined. Many ancient authorities read sent.
- Acts 21:26 Or, took the men the next day, and purifying himself etc.
- Acts 21:31 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
- Acts 21:31 Or, cohort
- Acts 21:32 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
- Acts 21:33 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
- Acts 21:37 Or, military tribune. Greek chiliarch.
Acts 21
Worldwide English (New Testament)
21 When we had said goodbye to them, we left them. We went straight across the water to the island of Cos. The next day we came to the island of Rhodes. Then we went to the city of Patara.
2 There we found a boat going to the country of Phoenicia, so we went there.
3 When we saw the island of Cyprus, we went on the right side of it to Syria. We landed at Tyre because they unloaded the boat there.
4 We found some Christians and stayed for seven days. The Holy Spirit spoke through them to Paul, `Do not go on to Jerusalem.'
5 When the seven days had passed, we left and went on our way. All of the men, women, and children went with us out of the city. There by the sea we kneeled down and talked to God.
6 We said goodbye to each other. Then we got on the boat and they went back to their homes.
7 From Tyre we went to Ptolemais. There we greeted the Christian brothers and stayed with them one day.
8 The next day we left and came to Caesarea. We went into the house of Philip. He was a man who went out telling the good news. He was one of the seven helpers in the church.
9 He had four daughters who spoke words from God. They were not married.
10 While we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came from Judea.
11 When he came to us, he took Paul's belt. He tied his own hands and feet with it. Then he said, `The Holy Spirit has told me that in the same way the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem will tie the man who owns this belt. They will give him over to the people who are not Jews.'
12 When we heard this, both we and the people there talked to Paul and begged him not to go to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul answered, `Why are you crying and making me sad like this? I am ready to be tied and also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.'
14 So when we saw that he would not change his mind, we stopped begging him. We said, `May the Lord do what he wants to be done.'
15 After that, we took our things and went to Jerusalem.
16 Some of the Christians from Caesarea went with us. One of them was Mnason, a man born in Cyprus. He was one of the first Christian believers. We stayed in his house.
17 When we reached Jerusalem, the Christian brothers were glad to see us.
18 The next day Paul went with us to see James. All the church leaders were there.
19 First, Paul greeted them. Then he told them one by one the things God had done as he worked among the people who were not Jews.
20 When they heard it, they praised the Lord. They said to Paul, `Brother, there are many thousands of Jews who believe. They all say we must obey the law of Moses.
21 They have heard that you teach all the Jews who live in other lands. They heard that you tell them not to obey Moses' law: that they need not circumcise their children like the Jews do; and they can leave the Jewish ways of living.
22 What should we do about it? Many people will gather together because they will surely hear that you have come.
23 Now then, do the thing we tell you. We have four men who have made a promise.
24 Take them with you. Make yourself clean with them, the way the law says to do. Pay the cost for having their hair cut. Then all the people will know that all the things they heard about you are not true. They will know that you live the way the law says you should live.
25 We sent a letter to those who are not Jews and have believed. Here is what we told them they must not do. They must not touch things that have been given to idols. They must not taste blood. They must not eat the meat of animals that were killed by choking. And they must not take part in any kind of wrong sexual behaviour between men and women.'
26 Then Paul took the men with him. The next day he made himself clean with them the way the law says to do. Then he went into the temple. He told the priests which day they would finish making themselves clean. On that day a sacrifice would be made for each one of them.
27 The seven days were almost over. The Jewish leaders from Asia Minor saw Paul in the temple. They got all the people there excited. They caught hold of him.
28 They shouted, `All you men of Israel, come and help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere not to respect our people. He says we need not obey the law or respect this temple. And what is more, he has brought Greek people into the temple. He has made this holy place unclean.'
29 They said this because they had seen a man from Ephesus named Trophimus. He was in the city with Paul. And they thought that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30 So all the people in the city were excited. They came running. They caught Paul and took him out of the temple by force. Then the doors were shut behind them.
31 They were trying to kill him. The officer in charge of the soldiers heard that all the people of Jerusalem were making trouble.
32 Right away he took some soldiers and officers with him and ran down to the people. When the people saw them they stopped beating Paul.
33 Then the officer came up and took Paul. He had him tied with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.
34 Some of the crowd shouted one thing and some of them shouted something else. The captain could not find out what was true. The people were shouting too much. So he told his soldiers to take Paul into their army house.
35 When Paul came to the steps, the soldiers carried him because the people were fighting to get him.
36 They were all following, shouting, `Kill him!'
37-38 ust as the soldiers were going to take Paul into their army house, he said to the officer, `May I tell you something?' `So, you speak the Greek language!' said the officer. `I thought you were the man from the country of Egypt who made trouble a while ago. I thought you were the one who led four thousand bad men into the desert.'
39 Paul said, `I am a Jew. I was born in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. I belong to a great city. Please let me talk to these people.'
40 So the officer let him talk. Paul stood on the steps and put up his hand. Then all the people were very quiet. He talked to them in the Jews' language.
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