Acts 21:27-36

When the seven-day period was almost over, a number of Jews from western Turkey who had seen him in the temple courts stirred up the whole crowd against him. Seizing him, they 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.” (For Trophimus, an Ephesian, had been seen previously with him, and they assumed that he entered the inner courts with Paul.) This 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. But as they were about to kill Paul, the news reached the commander of the Roman garrison that the entire city was in an uproar. He 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. The commander arrested him and ordered that he be bound with two chains. He then asked, “Who is he and what has he done wrong?” Some 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. When they reached the steps leading up to the fortress, they had to protect Paul and carry him up because of the violent mob following them, and everyone was screaming out, “Away with this man! Kill him!”