¹⁷ When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers there welcomed us warmly.

¹⁸ The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ After greeting them, Paul^[a] related one by one the things that God had done among the gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰ When they heard about it, they praised God and told him, “You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are zealous for the Law. ²¹ But they have been told about you—that you teach all the Jews living among the gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. ²² What 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 these men, go through the purification ceremony with them, and pay their expenses to shave their heads. Then everyone will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you are carefully observing and keeping the Law. ²⁵ As for the gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our decision that they should keep away from food that has been sacrificed to idols, from blood,^[b] from anything strangled,^[c] and from sexual immorality.”

Paul is Arrested in the Temple

²⁶ Then Paul took those men and the next day purified himself with them. Then he went into the Temple to announce the time when their days of purification would end and when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them.