Acts 21
21
1 And after these things had happened, having reluctantly parted from them, we sailed a direct course, arriving at Cos, and on following the day at Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
2 And when we had found a ship sailing across to Phoenicia, climbing aboard, we set sail.
3 Then, after we had caught sight of Cyprus, keeping it to the left, we sailed on to Syria, and we arrived at Tyre. For the ship was going to unload its cargo there.
4 Then, having found the disciples, we lodged there for seven days. And they were saying to Paul, through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
5 And when the days were completed, setting out, we went on; and they all accompanied us with their wives and children, until we were outside of the city. And we kneeled down at the shore and prayed.
6 And when we had said farewell to one another, we climbed aboard the ship. And they returned to their own.
7 Yet truly, having completed our journey by boat from Tyre, we descended to Ptolemais. And greeting the brothers, we lodged with them for one day.
8 Then, after setting out the next day, we arrived at Caesarea. And upon entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him.
9 Now this man had four daughters, virgins, who were prophesying.
10 And while we were delayed for some days, a certain prophet from Judea, named Agabus, arrived.
11 And he, when he had come to us, took Paul's belt, and binding his own feet and hands, he said: "Thus says the Holy Spirit: The man whose belt this is, the Jews will bind in this way at Jerusalem. And they will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."
12 And when we had heard this, both we and those who were from that place begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul responded by saying: "What do you accomplish by weeping and afflicting my heart? For I am prepared, not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus."
14 And since we were not able to persuade him, we quieted, saying: "May the will of the Lord be done."
15 Then, after those days, having made preparations, we ascended to Jerusalem.
16 Now some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing with them a certain Cypriot named Mnason, a very old disciple, whose guests we would be.
17 And when we had arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us willingly.
18 Then, on the following day, Paul entered with us to James. And all the elders were assembled.
19 And when he had greeted them, he explained each thing that God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 And they, upon hearing it, magnified God and said to him: "You understand, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.
21 Now they have heard about you, that you are teaching those Jews who are among the Gentiles to withdraw from Moses, telling them that they should not circumcise their sons, nor act according to custom.
22 What is next? The multitude ought to be convened. For they will hear that you have arrived.
23 Therefore, do this thing that we ask of you: We have four men, who are under a vow.
24 Take these and sanctify yourself with them, and require them to shave their heads. And then everyone will know that the things that they have heard about you are false, but that you yourself walk in keeping with the law.
25 But, about those Gentiles who have believed, we have written a judgment that they should keep themselves from what has been immolated to idols, and from blood, and from what has been suffocated, and from fornication."
26 Then Paul, taking the men on the next day, was purified with them, and he entered the temple, announcing the process of the days of purification, until an oblation would be offered on behalf of each one of them.
27 But when the seven days were reaching completion, those Jews who were from Asia, when they had seen him in the temple, incited all the people, and they laid hands on him, crying out:
28 "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching, everyone, everywhere, against the people and the law and this place. Furthermore, he has even brought Gentiles into the temple, and he has violated this holy place."
29 (For they had seen Trophimus, an Ephesian, in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
30 And the entire city was stirred up. And it happened that the people ran together. And apprehending Paul, they dragged him outside of the temple. And immediately the doors were closed.
31 Then, as they were seeking to kill him, it was reported to the tribune of the cohort: "All Jerusalem is in confusion."
32 And so, immediately taking soldiers and centurions, he rushed down to them. And when they had seen the tribune and the soldiers, they ceased to strike Paul.
33 Then the tribune, drawing near, apprehended him and ordered that he be bound with two chains. And he was asking who he was and what he had done.
34 Then they were crying out various things within the crowd. And since he could not understand anything clearly because of the noise, he ordered him to be brought into the fortress.
35 And when he had arrived at the stairs, it happened that he was carried up by the soldiers, because of the threat of violence from the people.
36 For the multitude of the people were following and crying out, "Take him away!"
37 And as Paul was beginning to be brought into the fortress, he said to the tribune, "Is it permissible for me to say something to you?" And he said, "You know Greek?
38 So then, are you not that Egyptian who before these days incited a rebellion and led out into the desert four thousand murderous men?"
39 But Paul said to him: "I am a man, indeed a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of a well-known city. So I petition you, permit me to speak to the people."
40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned with his hand to the people. And when a great silence occurred, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying:
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Acts 21
21
Tyre and Caesarea
1-4And so, with the tearful good-byes behind us, we were on our way. We made a straight run to Cos, the next day reached Rhodes, and then Patara. There we found a ship going direct to Phoenicia, got on board, and set sail. Cyprus came into view on our left, but was soon out of sight as we kept on course for Syria, and eventually docked in the port of Tyre. While the cargo was being unloaded, we looked up the local disciples and stayed with them seven days. Their message to Paul, from insight given by the Spirit, was “Don’t go to Jerusalem.”
5-6When our time was up, they escorted us out of the city to the docks. Everyone came along—men, women, children. They made a farewell party of the occasion! We all kneeled together on the beach and prayed. Then, after another round of saying good-bye, we climbed on board the ship while they drifted back to their homes.
7-9A short run from Tyre to Ptolemais completed the voyage. We greeted our Christian friends there and stayed with them a day. In the morning we went on to Caesarea and stayed with Philip the Evangelist, one of “the Seven.” Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
10-11After several days of visiting, a prophet from Judea by the name of Agabus came down to see us. He went right up to Paul, took Paul’s belt, and, in a dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet. He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and hand him over to godless unbelievers.”
12-13When we heard that, we and everyone there that day begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to Jerusalem. But Paul wouldn’t budge: “Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene and making it even harder for me? You’re looking at this backward. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?”
14We saw that we weren’t making even a dent in his resolve, and gave up. “It’s in God’s hands now,” we said. “Master, you handle it.”
15-16It wasn’t long before we had our luggage together and were on our way to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and took us to the home of Mnason, who received us warmly as his guests. A native of Cyprus, he had been among the earliest disciples.
Jerusalem
17-19In Jerusalem, our friends, glad to see us, received us with open arms. The first thing next morning, we took Paul to see James. All the church leaders were there. After a time of greeting and small talk, Paul told the story, detail by detail, of what God had done among the non-Jewish people through his ministry. They listened with delight and gave God the glory.
20-21They had a story to tell, too: “And just look at what’s been happening here—thousands upon thousands of God-fearing Jews have become believers in Jesus! But there’s also a problem because they are more zealous than ever in observing the laws of Moses. They’ve been told that you advise believing Jews who live surrounded by unbelieving outsiders to go light on Moses, telling them that they don’t need to circumcise their children or keep up the old traditions. This isn’t sitting at all well with them.
22-24“We’re worried about what will happen when they discover you’re in town. There’s bound to be trouble. So here is what we want you to do: There are four men from our company who have taken a vow involving ritual purification, but have no money to pay the expenses. Join these men in their vows and pay their expenses. Then it will become obvious to everyone that there is nothing to the rumors going around about you and that you are in fact scrupulous in your reverence for the laws of Moses.
25“In asking you to do this, we’re not going back on our agreement regarding non-Jews who have become believers. We continue to hold fast to what we wrote in that letter, namely, to be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; to avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians; to guard the morality of sex and marriage.”
26So Paul did it—took the men, joined them in their vows, and paid their way. The next day he went to the Temple to make it official and stay there until the proper sacrifices had been offered and completed for each of them.
Paul Under Arrest
27-29When the seven days of their purification were nearly up, some Jews from around Ephesus spotted him in the Temple. At once they turned the place upside-down. They grabbed Paul and started yelling at the top of their lungs, “Help! You Israelites, help! This is the man who is going all over the world telling lies against us and our religion and this place. He’s even brought Greeks in here and defiled this holy place.” (What had happened was that they had seen Paul and Trophimus, the Ephesian Greek, walking together in the city and had just assumed that he had also taken him to the Temple and shown him around.)
30Soon the whole city was in an uproar, people running from everywhere to the Temple to get in on the action. They grabbed Paul, dragged him outside, and locked the Temple gates so he couldn’t get back in and gain sanctuary.
31-32As they were trying to kill him, word came to the captain of the guard, “A riot! The whole city’s boiling over!” He acted swiftly. His soldiers and centurions ran to the scene at once. As soon as the mob saw the captain and his soldiers, they quit beating Paul.
33-36The captain came up and put Paul under arrest. He first ordered him handcuffed, and then asked who he was and what he had done. All he got from the crowd were shouts, one yelling this, another that. It was impossible to tell one word from another in the mob hysteria, so the captain ordered Paul taken to the military barracks. But when they got to the Temple steps, the mob became so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul. As they carried him away, the crowd followed, shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”
37-38When they got to the barracks and were about to go in, Paul said to the captain, “Can I say something to you?”
He answered, “Oh, I didn’t know you spoke Greek. I thought you were the Egyptian who not long ago started a riot here, and then hid out in the desert with his four thousand thugs.”
39Paul said, “No, I’m a Jew, born in Tarsus. And I’m a citizen still of that influential city. I have a simple request: Let me speak to the crowd.”
Paul Tells His Story
40Standing on the barracks steps, Paul turned and held his arms up. A hush fell over the crowd as Paul began to speak. He spoke in Hebrew.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.