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
Complete Jewish Bible
21 After we had torn ourselves away from the Ephesian elders, we set sail and made a straight run to Cos. The next day we went to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2 On finding a ship that was crossing over to Phoenicia, we embarked and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria and landed at Tzor, because that was where the ship was unloading its cargo. 4 Having searched out the talmidim there, we remained for a week. Guided by the Spirit, they told Sha’ul not to go up to Yerushalayim; 5 but when the week was over, we left to continue our journey. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the town. Kneeling on the beach and praying, 6 we said good-bye to each other. Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.
7 When the voyage from Tzor was over, we arrived at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers and stayed with them overnight. 8 The following day, we left and came to Caesarea, where we went to the home of Philip the proclaimer of the Good News, one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters with the gift of prophecy.
10 While we were staying there, a prophet named Agav came down from Y’hudah 11 to visit us. He took Sha’ul’s belt, tied up his own hands and feet and said, “Here is what the Ruach HaKodesh says: the man who owns this belt — the Judeans in Yerushalayim will tie him up just like this and hand him over to the Goyim.” 12 When we heard this, both we and the people there begged him not to go up to Yerushalayim; 13 but Sha’ul answered, “What are you doing, crying and trying to weaken my resolve? I am prepared not only to be tied up, but even to die in Yerushalayim for the name of the Lord Yeshua.” 14 And when he would not be convinced, we said, “May the Lord’s will be done,” and kept quiet.
15 So at the end of our stay, we packed and went up to Yerushalayim; 16 and with us went some of the talmidim from Caesarea. They brought us to the home of the man with whom we were to stay, Mnason from Cyprus, who had been a talmid since the early days.
17 In Yerushalayim, the brothers received us warmly. 18 The next day Sha’ul and the rest of us went in to Ya‘akov, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, Sha’ul described in detail each of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his efforts.
20 On hearing it, they praised God; but they also said to him, “You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Judeans, and they are all zealots for the Torah. 21 Now what they have been told about you is that you are teaching all the Jews living among the Goyim to apostatize from Moshe, telling them not to have a b’rit-milah for their sons and not to follow the traditions.
22 “What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. 24 Take them with you, be purified with them, and pay the expenses connected with having their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to these rumors which they have heard about you; but that, on the contrary, you yourself stay in line and keep the Torah.
25 “However, in regard to the Goyim who have come to trust in Yeshua, we all joined in writing them a letter with our decision that they should abstain from what had been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled and from fornication.”
26 The next day Sha’ul took the men, purified himself along with them and entered the Temple to give notice of when the period of purification would be finished and the offering would have to be made for each of them. 27 The seven days were almost up when some unbelieving Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the Temple, stirred up all the crowd and grabbed him. 28 “Men of Isra’el, help!” they shouted. “This is the man who goes everywhere teaching everyone things against the people, against the Torah and against this place! And now he has even brought some Goyim into the Temple and defiled this holy place!” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus from Ephesus in the city with him and assumed that Sha’ul had brought him into the Temple.)
30 The whole city was aroused, and people came running from all over. They seized Sha’ul and dragged him out of the Temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 But while they were attempting to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman battalion that all Yerushalayim was in turmoil. 32 Immediately he took officers and soldiers and charged down upon them. As soon as they saw the commander, they quit beating Sha’ul.
33 Then the commander came up, arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Everyone in the crowd shouted something different; so, since he couldn’t find out what had happened because of the uproar, he ordered him brought to the barracks. 35 When Sha’ul got to the steps, he actually had to be carried by the soldiers, because the mob was so wild — 36 the crowd kept following and screaming, “Kill him!”
37 As Sha’ul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “Is it all right if I say something to you?” The commander said, “You know Greek! 38 Say, aren’t you that Egyptian who tried to start a revolution a while back, and led four thousand armed terrorists out into the desert?” 39 Sha’ul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; and I ask your permission to let me speak to the people.”
40 Having received permission, Sha’ul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When they finally became still, he addressed them in Hebrew:
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