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We continued the voyage from Tyre[a] and arrived at Ptolemais,[b] and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day. On the next day we left[c] and came to Caesarea,[d] and entered[e] the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven,[f] and stayed with him. (He had four unmarried[g] daughters who prophesied.)[h]

10 While we remained there for a number of days,[i] a prophet named Agabus[j] came down from Judea. 11 He came[k] to us, took[l] Paul’s belt,[m] tied[n] his own hands and feet with it,[o] and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over[p] to the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, both we and the local people[q] begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking[r] my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up,[s] but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 Because he could not be persuaded,[t] we said no more except,[u] “The Lord’s will be done.”[v]

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:7 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
  2. Acts 21:7 sn Ptolemais was a seaport on the coast of Palestine about 30 mi (48 km) south of Tyre.
  3. Acts 21:8 tn Grk “On the next day leaving, we came.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  4. Acts 21:8 sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was another 40 mi (65 km).
  5. Acts 21:8 tn Grk “and entering…we stayed.” The participle εἰσελθόντες (eiselthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  6. Acts 21:8 sn Philip was one of the seven deacons appointed in the Jerusalem church (Acts 6:1-7).
  7. Acts 21:9 tn Grk “virgin.” While the term παρθένος (parthenos) can refer to a woman who has never had sexual relations, the emphasis in this context seems to be on the fact that Philip’s daughters were not married (L&N 9.39).
  8. Acts 21:9 sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author. Luke again noted women who were gifted in the early church (see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.31; 3.39).
  9. Acts 21:10 tn BDAG 848 s.v. πολύς 1.b.α has “ἐπὶ ἡμέρας πλείους for a (large) number of days, for many daysAc 13:31.—21:1024:17; 25:14; 27:20.”
  10. Acts 21:10 sn Agabus also appeared in Acts 11:28. He was from Jerusalem, so the two churches were still in contact with one another.
  11. Acts 21:11 tn Grk “And coming.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The participle ἐλθών (elthōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  12. Acts 21:11 tn Grk “and taking.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more. The participle ἄρας (aras) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  13. Acts 21:11 sn The belt was a band or sash used to keep money as well as to gird up the tunic (BDAG 431 s.v. ζώνη).
  14. Acts 21:11 tn The participle δήσας (dēsas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  15. Acts 21:11 tn The words “with it” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  16. Acts 21:11 tn Grk “and will deliver him over into the hands of” (a Semitic idiom).sn The Jews…will tie up…and will hand him over. As later events will show, the Jews in Jerusalem did not personally tie Paul up and hand him over to the Gentiles, but their reaction to him was the cause of his arrest (Acts 21:27-36).
  17. Acts 21:12 tn Or “the people there.”
  18. Acts 21:13 tn The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus (Ant. 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a hapax legomenon) it is used figuratively (BDAG 972 s.v. συνθρύπτω).
  19. Acts 21:13 tn L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together—‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’” The verb δέω (deō) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.
  20. Acts 21:14 tn The participle πειθομένου (peithomenou) in this genitive absolute construction has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
  21. Acts 21:14 tn Grk “we became silent, saying.”
  22. Acts 21:14 sn “The Lord’s will be done.” Since no one knew exactly what would happen, the matter was left in the Lord’s hands.

And when we had finished the voyage from (A)Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting (B)the brothers, we stayed with them for a day. And on the next day we left and came to (C)Caesarea, and entering the house of (D)Philip the (E)evangelist, who was (F)one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who (G)prophesied. 10 And as we were staying there for some days, a prophet named (H)Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he (I)took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This (J)is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will (K)bind the man who owns this belt and (L)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 (M)not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, crying and breaking my heart? For (N)I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for (O)the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, saying, “(P)The will of the Lord be done!”

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