Acts 21
21
Paul Continues His Journey to Jerusalem
1After we had torn ourselves away from the Ephesian elders, we headed out to sea. We sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes. From there we continued on to Patara. 2We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia. So we went on board and headed out to sea. 3We came near Cyprus and passed to the south of it. Then we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre. There our ship was supposed to unload. 4We looked for the believers there and stayed with them for seven days. The believers tried to keep Paul from going on to Jerusalem. They were led by the Holy Spirit to do this. 5When it was time to leave, we continued on our way. All the believers, including their whole families, went with us out of the city. There on the beach we got down on our knees to pray. 6We said goodbye to each other. Then we went on board the ship. And they returned home.
7Continuing on from Tyre, we landed at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers and sisters. We stayed with them for a day. 8The next day we left and arrived at Caesarea. We stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist. He was one of the seven deacons. 9He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10We stayed there several days. Then a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11He came over to us. Then he took Paul’s belt and tied his own hands and feet with it. He said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘This is how the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will tie up the owner of this belt. They will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”
12When we heard this, we all begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13He asked, “Why are you crying? Why are you breaking my heart? I’m ready to be put in prison. In fact, I’m ready to die in Jerusalem for the Lord Jesus.” 14We couldn’t change his mind. So we gave up. We said, “May what the Lord wants to happen be done.”
15After this, we started on our way to Jerusalem. 16Some of the believers from Caesarea went with us. They brought us to Mnason’s home. We were supposed to stay there. Mnason was from Cyprus. He was one of the first believers.
Paul Arrives in Jerusalem
17When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters gave us a warm welcome. 18The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James. All the elders were there. 19Paul greeted them. Then he reported everything God had done among the Gentiles through his work.
20When they heard this, they praised God. Then they spoke to Paul. “Brother,” they said, “you see that thousands of Jews have become believers. All of them try very hard to obey the law. 21They have been told that you teach Jews to turn away from the Law of Moses. You teach this to the Jews who live among the Gentiles. They think that you teach those Jews not to circumcise their children. They think that you teach them to give up our Jewish ways. 22What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23So do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a promise to God. 24Take them with you. Join them in the Jewish practice that makes people pure and ‘clean.’ Pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that these reports about you are not true in any way. They will know that you yourself obey the law. 25We have already given written directions to the believers who are not Jews. They must not eat food that has been offered to statues of gods. They must not drink blood. They must not eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And they must not commit sexual sins.”
26The next day Paul took the men with him. They all made themselves pure and “clean” in the usual way. Then Paul went to the temple. There he reported the date when the days of cleansing would end. At that time the proper offering would be made for each of them.
Paul Is Arrested
27The seven days of cleansing were almost over. Some Jews from Asia Minor saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and grabbed Paul. 28“Fellow Israelites, help us!” they shouted. “This is the man who teaches everyone in all places against our people. He speaks against our law and against this holy place. Besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple. He has made this holy place ‘unclean.’ ” 29They said this because they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul. They thought Paul had brought him into the temple.
30The whole city was stirred up. People came running from all directions. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Right away the temple gates were shut. 31The people were trying to kill Paul. But news reached the commander of the Roman troops. He heard that people were making trouble in the whole city of Jerusalem. 32Right away he took some officers and soldiers with him. They ran down to the crowd. The people causing the trouble saw the commander and his soldiers. So they stopped beating Paul.
33The commander came up and arrested Paul. He ordered him to be held with two chains. Then he asked who Paul was and what he had done. 34Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another. But the commander couldn’t get the facts because of all the noise. So he ordered that Paul be taken into the fort. 35Paul reached the steps. But then the mob became so wild that he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”
Paul Speaks to the Crowd
37The soldiers were about to take Paul into the fort. Then he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”
“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. 38“Aren’t you the Egyptian who turned some of our people against their leaders? Didn’t you lead 4,000 terrorists out into the desert some time ago?”
39Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia. I am a citizen of an important city. Please let me speak to the people.”
40The commander told him he could. So Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When all of them were quiet, he spoke to them in the Aramaic language.
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Acts 21: NIrV
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Acts 21
21
Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem
1After we tore ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed a direct course for the island of Kos, and on the next day to the island of Rhodes, # 21:1 Both Kos and Rhodes are Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. and from there to Patara. # 21:1 A city on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. 2There we found a ship that was crossing over to Syria, # 21:2 Or “Phoenicia,” a Greek term for coastal Lebanon and Syria. so we went aboard and sailed away. 3After we sighted Cyprus and sailed south of it, we docked at Tyre # 21:3 Tyre was a city in Phoenicia. They would have sailed four or five days from Patara to reach Tyre. in Syria, where the ship unloaded its cargo.
4When we went ashore we found a number of believers and stayed with them for a week. They prophesied to Paul repeatedly, warning him by the Holy Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. 5When it was time for us to leave and be on our way, everyone—men, women, and children—accompanied us out of the city down to the beach. After we all knelt in the sand and prayed together, 6we kissed one another, # 21:6 As translated from the Aramaic idiom “one to one” (kissed). said our good-byes, and boarded the ship, while the believers went back to their homes.
7From Tyre we sailed # 21:7 The text can mean either “continued our journey” or “completed our journey.” If they completed their journey by boat to Akko, they would have gone by land to Caesarea. Akko, or Ptolemais, was named after the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy II Philadelphus in 261 BC (Epistulae Aristeas 115; 1 Macc. 5:15). See also Judg. 1:31. on to the town of Akko and greeted the believers there with peace. # 21:7 As translated from the Aramaic. We stayed with them for a day. 8Then we went on to Caesarea and stayed for several days # 21:8 This information is supplied from v. 10. in the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven deacons # 21:8 See Acts 6:1–7. An evangelist is simply “a preacher of the good news” or in Aramaic, “a preacher of the hope.” Philip is described as both an evangelist and a deacon (servant). Every minister must become a servant. and 9the father of four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10During our stay of several days, Agabus, # 21:10 See Acts 11:28. a prophet from Judea, came to visit us. 11As a prophetic gesture, he took Paul’s belt and tied his own hands and feet with it as he prophesied, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘The one who owns this belt will be tied up in this same way by the Jews and they will hand him over to those who are not Jews.’ ” # 21:11 Or “gentiles”; i.e., the Romans.
12When we heard this, both we and the believers of Caesarea begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 13But Paul replied, “Why do you cry and break my heart with your tears? Don’t you know that I’m prepared not only to be imprisoned but to die in Jerusalem for the sake of the wonder of the name of our Lord Jesus?”
14Because we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said nothing more except “May the will of the Lord be done.”
Paul Arrives in Jerusalem
15Afterward we packed our bags and set off for Jerusalem, 16with some of the believers from Caesarea accompanying us. They brought us to a village # 21:16 Implied in the text and found in a few Greek manuscripts. where they introduced us to Mnason, a Cypriot, one of the original disciples, # 21:16 That is, one of the first converts. He may have been one of the original converts at Pentecost or one of the first disciples converted by Paul and Barnabas. Mnason means “remembering.” and he offered us hospitality.
17When we finally arrived in Jerusalem, the believers welcomed us with delight. 18The next day Paul and our team had a meeting with Jacob # 21:18 That is, Jacob (James) the brother of our Lord Jesus, not the apostle Jacob who was martyred. and all the elders of the Jerusalem church. 19After greeting everyone, Paul explained in detail what God had accomplished through his ministry among the non-Jewish people.
20When they heard Paul’s report, they praised God. And they said to him, “You should know, brother, that there are many tens of thousands of Jews who have also embraced the faith and are passionately keeping the law of Moses. 21But they’ve heard a rumor that you’ve been instructing the Jews everywhere to abandon Moses # 21:21 Or “apostasy from [the law of] Moses.” by telling them they don’t need to circumcise their children or keep our Jewish customs. 22They will certainly hear that you’ve come to Jerusalem. So what is the proper way to proceed? 23We urge you to follow our suggestion. We have four men here who have taken a vow and are ready to have their heads shaved. 24Now go with them to the temple and sponsor them in their purification ceremony, # 21:24 This could have been the completion of a Nazarite vow (Num. 6:1–12) or a reference to the Jewish custom of when a Jew returned from a trip to a foreign (pagan) land, he would purify himself of the defilement of being with unbelievers (Mishnah Oholoth 2:3). and pay all their required expenses. Then everyone will know that the rumors they’ve heard are false. They’ll see that you are one who lives according to the law of Moses. 25But in reference to the non-Jewish believers, we’ve sent them a letter with our decision, stating that they should avoid eating meat that has been offered to an idol, or eating blood or any animal that has been strangled, and to avoid sexual immorality.” # 21:25 It seems strange that Jacob makes no mention of the offering that Paul brought for the poor saints in Jerusalem, which was the reason for leaving his missionary work to come to Jerusalem. Instead, Jacob wants to ensure the purity of Paul’s message. There is at least a hint that Paul’s ministry was not always well received in Judea. See Rom. 15:30–31.
Paul Arrested in Jerusalem
26The next day, Paul took the four men to the temple and ceremonially purified himself along with them. He publicly gave notice of the date when their vows would end and when sacrifices would be offered for each of them.
27When the seven-day period # 21:27 This could also mean “the Sabbath.” was almost over, a number of Jews from western Turkey # 21:27 Or “Asia (Minor).” They were possibly in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. who had seen him in the temple courts stirred up the whole crowd against him. Seizing him, 28they shouted, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everywhere what is contrary to our nation, our law, and this temple. And not only that, but now he brings these non-Jewish men with him into the inner courts of our temple! They have made this sacred place ritually unclean.” 29(For Trophimus, an Ephesian, had been seen previously with him, and they assumed that he entered the inner courts with Paul.)
30This ignited a huge riot in the city as all the people came together to seize Paul and drag him out of the temple courts, closing the gates behind him. 31But as they were about to kill Paul, the news reached the commander of the Roman garrison # 21:31 The Roman commander was in charge of about six hundred soldiers. that the entire city was in an uproar. 32He immediately ran out to the crowd with a large number of his officers and soldiers. When the crowd saw them coming, they stopped beating Paul. 33The commander arrested him and ordered that he be bound with two chains. He then asked, “Who is he and what has he done wrong?”
34Some in the crowd shouted one thing and others something else, just adding to the confusion. Since the commander was unable to get to the truth because of the disturbance, he ordered that Paul be brought back to their headquarters. 35When they reached the steps leading up to the fortress, # 21:35 This was the Antonia Fortress (or Tower) built by Herod the Great in 19 BC. they had to protect Paul and carry him up because of the violent mob following them, 36and everyone was screaming out, “Away with this man! Kill him!”
37As Paul was being led to the entrance of the compound, he said to the commander in Greek, “May I have a word with you?”
The commander replied, “So you know Greek, do you? # 21:37 The commander was surprised that Paul could speak some Greek, for the people living in Israel at that time did not speak Greek. Paul, an educated Jew from Turkey, spoke to the commander in the common language of the Roman Empire. 38Aren’t you that Egyptian fanatic who started a rebellion some time ago and led four thousand assassins # 21:38 The Greek word used here is Sicarii, a sect of Jewish nationalists who were violently hostile to Roman rule. They got their name from the small dagger known as a sicarii. out into the wilderness?”
39Paul answered, “I am, in fact, a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a well-known city of southern Turkey where I was born. I beg you, sir, please give me a moment to speak to these people.”
40When the commander gave his permission, Paul stood on the steps and gestured with his hands for the people to listen. When the crowd quieted down, Paul addressed them in Aramaic # 21:40 Or “Hebrew.” The Hebrew language had been replaced with Aramaic during the Babylonian captivity. For more than a thousand years the Aramaic language remained the language of the Jewish people. Note that Paul did not address the Jewish people in Greek. and said:
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