Acts 21
1 And after parting from them, we put out to sea and came straight to Cos, and the day after to Rhodes, and from there to Patara:
After we had torn ourselves away from them, we sailed directly to Cos, and the next day on to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
2 And as there was a ship going to Phoenicia, we went in it.
Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded it and set sail.
3 And when we had come in view of Cyprus, going past it on our left, we went on to Syria, and came to land at Tyre: for there the goods which were in the ship had to be taken out.
After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
4 And meeting the disciples we were there for seven days: and they gave Paul orders through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.
We sought out the disciples in Tyre and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they kept telling Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
5 And when these days came to an end, we went on our journey; and they all, with their wives and children, came with us on our way till we were out of the town: and after going on our knees in prayer by the sea,
But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.
6 We said our last words to one another, and got into the ship, and they went back to their houses.
And after we had said our farewells, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
7 And journeying by ship from Tyre we came to Ptolemais; and there we had talk with the brothers and were with them for one day.
When we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for a day.
8 And on the day after, we went away and came to Caesarea, where we were guests in the house of Philip, the preacher, who was one of the seven.
Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.
9 And he had four daughters, virgins, who were prophets.
He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
10 And while we were waiting there for some days, a certain prophet, named Agabus, came down from Judaea.
After we had been there several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 And he came to us, and took the band of Paul's clothing, and putting it round his feet and hands, said, The Holy Spirit says these words, So will the Jews do to the man who is the owner of this band, and they will give him up into the hands of the Gentiles.
Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
12 And hearing these things, we and those who were living in that place made request to him not to go to Jerusalem.
When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul said, What are you doing, weeping and wounding my heart? for I am ready, not only to be a prisoner, but to be put to death at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 And as he might not be moved we did no more, saying, Let the purpose of God be done.
When he would not be dissuaded, we fell silent and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
15 And after these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.
After these days, we packed up and went on to Jerusalem.
16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, taking a certain Mnason of Cyprus, one of the early disciples, in whose house we were to be living.
Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to stay at the home of Mnason the Cypriot, an early disciple.
17 And when we came to Jerusalem, the brothers were pleased to see us.
When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us joyfully.
18 And on the day after, Paul went with us to James, and all the rulers of the church were present.
The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were present.
19 And when he had said how glad he was to see them, he gave them a detailed account of the things which God had done through his work among the Gentiles.
Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 And hearing it, they gave praise to God; and they said to him, You see, brother, what thousands there are among the Jews, who have the faith; and they all have a great respect for the law:
When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.
21 And they have had news of you, how you have been teaching all the Jews among the Gentiles to give up the law of Moses, and not to give circumcision to their children, and not to keep the old rules.
But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.
22 What then is the position? They will certainly get news that you have come.
What then should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
23 Do this, then, which we say to you: We have four men who have taken an oath;
Therefore do what we advise you. There are four men with us who have taken a vow.
24 Go with these, and make yourself clean with them, and make the necessary payments for them, so that they may be free from their oath: and everyone will see that the statements made about you are not true, but that you put yourself under rule, and keep the law.
Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is no truth to these rumors about you, but that you also live in obedience to the law.
25 But as to the Gentiles who have the faith, we sent a letter, giving our decision that they were to keep themselves from offerings made to false gods, and from blood, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from the evil desires of the body.
As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”
26 Then Paul took the men, and on the day after, making himself clean with them, he went into the Temple, giving out the statement that the days necessary for making them clean were complete, till the offering was made for every one of them.
So the next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he entered the temple to give notice of the date when their purification would be complete and the offering would be made for each of them.
27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the Temple, got the people together and put their hands on him,
When the seven days were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,
28 Crying out, Men of Israel, come to our help: this is the man who is teaching all men everywhere against the people and the law and this place: and in addition, he has taken Greeks into the Temple, and made this holy place unclean.
crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
29 For they had seen him before in the town with Trophimus of Ephesus, and had the idea that Paul had taken him with him into the Temple.
For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30 And all the town was moved, and the people came running together and put their hands on Paul, pulling him out of the Temple: and then the doors were shut.
The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
31 And while they were attempting to put him to death, news came to the chief captain of the band that all Jerusalem was out of control.
While they were trying to kill him, the commander of the Roman regiment received a report that all Jerusalem was in turmoil.
32 And straight away he took some armed men and went quickly down to them: and the Jews, seeing them, gave no more blows to Paul.
Immediately he took some soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd. When the people saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 Then the chief captain came near and took him, and gave orders for him to be put in chains, questioning them as to who he was and what he had done.
The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.
34 And some said one thing and some another, among the people: and as he was not able to get a knowledge of the facts because of the noise, he gave orders for Paul to be taken into the army building.
Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, and some another. And since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks.
35 And when he came on to the steps, he was lifted up by the armed men, because of the force of the people;
When Paul reached the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.
36 For a great mass of people came after them, crying out, Away with him!
For the crowd that followed him kept shouting, “Away with him!”
37 And when Paul was about to be taken into the building, he said to the chief captain, May I say something to you? And he said, Have you a knowledge of Greek?
As they were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” “Do you speak Greek?” he replied.
38 Are you by chance the Egyptian who, before this, got the people worked up against the government and took four thousand men of the Assassins out into the waste land?
“Aren’t you the Egyptian who incited a rebellion some time ago and led four thousand members of the ‘Assassins’ into the wilderness?”
39 But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is not an unimportant town: I make a request to you to let me say a word to the people.
But Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Now I beg you to allow me to speak to the people.”
40 And when he let him do so, Paul, from the steps, made a sign with his hand to the people, and when they were all quiet, he said to them in the Hebrew language,
Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:
