Acts 21
1 [After] we said goodbye to the elders [from Ephesus], we [got on the ship and] sailed to Cos [Island, where the ship stopped for the night]. The next day we sailed from Cos to Rhodes [Island, where the ship stopped again. The day after] that we sailed to Patara [town, where the ship stopped. This was on Patara Island].
When we had gone away from them and set sail, we took a straight course to the city of Cos, and the next day to the city of Rhodes, and from there to the city of Patara.
2 [At Patara we left that ship, and someone told us that] there was a ship that would be going to Phoenicia [region. So] we got on that ship, and it left.
When we found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.
3 [We sailed until] we could see Cyprus [Island]. We passed to the south of the island and continued sailing until we arrived at [Phoenicia region, in] Syria [province]. We arrived at Tyre [city. The ship was going to stay there several days, because its workers] had to unload the cargo.
After sighting Cyprus, leaving it on the left side of the boat, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
4 [Someone told us] where the believers in Tyre lived, so we [(exc) went and] stayed with them for seven days. Because [God’s] Spirit revealed to them ([that people would cause Paul to suffer/Paul would suffer]) [in Jerusalem], they told Paul that he should not go there.
After we found the disciples, we stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit they kept urging Paul not to go to Jerusalem.
5 But when it was time [for the ship to leave again], we [prepared to] continue going [to Jerusalem]. When we left [Tyre], all the believers, including their wives and children, went with us [to the edge of the sea]. We all knelt down there on the sand/shore and prayed.
When our days there were over, we left and went on our way, and they all, with their wives and children, accompanied out of the city. Then we knelt down on the beach, prayed,
6 After we all said goodbye, Paul and we [his companions] got on the ship, and the [other] believers returned to their own homes.
and said farewell to each other. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
7 After we [(exc)] left Tyre, we continued on [that ship] to Ptolemais [city]. There were believers there, and we greeted them and stayed with them that night.
When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day.
8 The next day we left [Ptolemais] and sailed to Caesarea [city], where we stayed in the home of Philip, who [spent his days] telling others how to become disciples of Jesus. He was one of the seven [men whom the believers in Jerusalem had chosen to care for the widows].
On the next day we left and went to Caesarea. We entered the house of Philip, the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and we stayed with him.
9 He had four daughters who were not married. Each of them [frequently] spoke messages that the Holy Spirit had revealed to them.
Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
10 After [we(exc) had been in Philip’s house for] several days, a believer whose name was Agabus came down from Judea [district] and arrived [in Caesarea]. He [frequently] spoke messages that the Holy Spirit had told him.
As we stayed there for some days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet named Agabus.
11 Coming over to where we were, he took off Paul’s belt. Then he tied his own feet and hands with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘The Jewish [leaders] [SYN] in Jerusalem will tie up [the hands and feet of] the owner of this belt, like this, and they will hand him over to non-Jewish people [as a prisoner].’”
He came to us and took Paul's belt. With it he tied his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews in Jerusalem tie up the man who owns this belt, and they will hand him over into the hands of the Gentiles.'”
12 When [the rest of] us heard that, we and [other] believers there repeatedly pled with Paul, “Please do not go up to Jerusalem!”
When we heard these things, both we and the people who lived in that place begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 But Paul replied, “(Please stop crying and trying to discourage me [IDM] [from going!]/Why are you crying and trying to discourage me [IDM] [from going]?) [RHQ] I am willing to be put {[for people] to put me} in prison and also to be killed {[for them] to kill me} in Jerusalem because I [serve] [MTY] the Lord Jesus.”
Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready, not only to be tied up, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 When [we(exc) realized that] he was determined [to go to Jerusalem], we did not try [any longer] to persuade him [not to go]. We said, “May (the Lord [God] do what he wants/the Lord’s will be done)!”
Since Paul did not wish to be persuaded, we stopped trying and said, “May the will of the Lord be done.”
15 After those days [in Caesarea], we [(exc)] prepared [our things] and [left to] go [by land] up to Jerusalem.
After these days, we picked up our bags and went up to Jerusalem.
16 Some of the believers from Caesarea also went with us. [On the way to Jerusalem], we stayed [one night] in the house of [a man whose name was] Mnason. He was from Cyprus [Island], and he had believed [in Jesus] when people were first beginning to hear the message [about him].
There also went with us some of the disciples from Caesarea. They brought with them a man named Mnason, a man from Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we would stay.
17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, [a group of] the believers greeted us happily.
When we had arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.
18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to speak with James, [who was the leader of the congregation there]. All of the [other] leaders/elders [of the congregation in Jerusalem] were also there.
The next day Paul went with us to James, and all the elders were present.
19 Paul greeted them, and then he reported all of the things that God had enabled him to do among the non-Jewish people.
When he had greeted them, he reported one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
20 When they heard that, James and the other elders said, “Praise the Lord!” Then [one of] them said to Paul, “Brother/Friend, you [(sg)] know that there are very many thousands of us [(inc)] Jewish people [here] who have believed [in the Lord Jesus]. Also, you know that we [(inc)] all continue very carefully to obey the laws [that Moses gave us].
When they heard it, they praised God, and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands have believed among the Jews. They are all determined to keep the law.
21 [But our fellow Jewish believers] have been told {have heard [people say]} that when you are among non-Jews, you tell the Jewish believers who live there that they should stop obeying [the laws] [MTY] ([of] Moses/[that] Moses [received from God]). [People say that] you tell [those Jewish believers] not to circumcise their sons and not to practice our [other] customs. [We(exc) do not believe that this is true].
They have been told about you, that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children, and not to follow the old customs.
22 But our fellow [Jewish] believers will certainly hear that you have arrived, [and they will be angry with you]. So [you] need to do something [RHQ] [to show them that what they heard about you is not true].
What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
23 So you should do what we suggest to you. There are four men among us who have strongly promised [to God] about [something].
So do what we say to you. We have four men who made a vow.
24 Go with these men [to the Temple] and [ritually] purify yourself along with them. Then, [when it is time for them to offer the sacrifices for that ritual], pay for what they offer [as sacrifices]. After that, they can shave their heads [to show that they have done what they promised to do. And when people see you in the courts of the Temple with those men], they will know that what they have been told {what people have told them} about you is not true. Instead, all of them will know that you obey all our Jewish laws [and rituals].
Take these men and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, so that they may shave their heads. So everyone will know that the things they have been told about you are false. They will learn that you also follow the law.
25 As for the non-Jewish believers, [we elders here in Jerusalem have talked] about [which of our laws] they [should obey, and] we [(exc)] wrote them [a letter, telling them] what we decided. [We wrote] that they should not eat meat that people have offered as a sacrifice to any idol, [that they should not eat] blood [from animals], and that [they should not eat] meat from animals [that people have killed by] strangling [them. We also told them that] they should not have sex with someone to whom they are not married.”
But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote and gave the instructions that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
26 So Paul [agreed to do what they asked], and the next day he took the [four] men, and together they ritually purified themselves. After that, Paul went to the Temple [courts and] told [the priest] what day they would [finish] purifying themselves [ritually] and when [they] would offer [the animals as sacrifices] for each of them.
Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself with them, went into the temple, announcing the period of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.
27 When the seven days [for purifying themselves] were nearly finished, Paul [returned] to the Temple [courtyard]. Some Jews from Asia [province] saw him there, [and they were very angry at him]. On another day they had seen Paul [walking around] in Jerusalem with Trophimus, who was a non-Jew. Their laws did not permit non-Jews to be in the Temple, and they thought that Paul had brought Trophimus into the Temple [courtyard that day. So] they called out to many other Jews [who were in the Temple courtyard] to [help them] seize [MTY] Paul. They shouted, “Fellow Israelites, come and help [us punish this] man! This is the one who is [constantly] teaching people wherever [he goes that they] should despise the [Jewish] people. [He teaches people that they should no longer obey] the laws [of Moses] nor respect this holy [Temple]. He has even brought non-Jews here into [the court of] our Temple, causing God to consider it no longer holy!”
When the seven days were almost finished, some Jews from Asia, seeing Paul in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and laid hands on him.
They were shouting, “Men of Israel, help us. This is the man who teaches all men everywhere things that are against the people, the law, and this place. Besides, he has also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”
For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they thought that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30 [People] throughout [MTY] the city heard that there was trouble [at the Temple courtyard], and they came running there. They grabbed Paul and dragged him outside of the Temple [area]. The gates [to the Temple courtyard were shut] {[The Temple guards] shut the doors [to the Temple courts]} immediately, [so that the people would not riot inside the Temple area].
All the city was excited, and the people ran together and laid hold of Paul. They dragged him out of the temple, and the doors were immediately shut.
31 While they were trying to kill Paul, someone [ran to the fort near the Temple] and told the Roman commander that many [HYP] people [MTY] in Jerusalem were rioting [at the Temple].
As they were trying to kill him, news came up to the chief captain of the guard that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.
32 The commander quickly took some officers and [a large group of] soldiers and ran to [the Temple area where] the crowd was. When the crowd of people [who were yelling and beating Paul] saw the commander and the soldiers [coming], they stopped beating him.
Right away he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd. When the people saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 The commander came to [where Paul was and] seized him. He [commanded soldiers] to fasten a chain to [each of] Paul’s [arms]. Then he asked [the people in the crowd], “Who is this man, and what has he done?”
Then the chief captain approached and laid hold of Paul, and commanded him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.
34 Some of the many people there were shouting one thing, [and] some were shouting something else. Because they continued shouting so loudly, the commander could not understand [what they were shouting. So] he [commanded] that Paul be taken {[the soldiers] to take Paul} into the barracks [so that he could question him there].
Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and others another. Since the captain could not tell anything because of all the noise, he ordered that Paul be brought into the fortress.
35 [The soldiers] led Paul to the steps [of the barracks], but many people continued to follow them, trying to kill [Paul. So the commander told] the soldiers to carry Paul [up the steps into the barracks].
When he came to the steps, he was carried by the soldiers because of the crowd's violence.
36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”
For the crowd of people followed after and kept shouting out, “Away with him!”
37 As Paul was about to be taken {[the soldiers] were about to take Paul} into the barracks, he said [in Greek] to the commander, “May I speak to you?” The commander said, “(I am surprised that you can speak the Greek [language]!/Can you [(sg)] speak the Greek [language]?)” [RHQ]
As Paul was about to be brought into the fortress, he said to the chief captain, “May I say something to you?” The captain said, “Do you speak Greek?
38 “(I [thought] that you [(sg)] were that fellow/Are you not that fellow) from Egypt [RHQ] who wanted to rebel [against the government not long ago], and who took 4,000 violent terrorists [with him] out into the desert, [so that we could not catch him]?”
Are you not then the Egyptian, who previously led a rebellion and led the four thousand men of the 'Assassins' out into the wilderness?”
39 Paul answered, “[No, I am not!] I am a Jew. I [was born] in Tarsus, which is an important [LIT] city in Cilicia [province]. I ask that you [(sg)] let me speak to the people.”
Paul said, “I am a Jew, from the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. I am a citizen of an important city. I ask you, allow me to speak to the people.”
40 Then the commander permitted Paul [to speak. So] Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand [for the crowd to be quiet. And after] the people in the crowd became quiet, Paul spoke to them in [their own] Hebrew language [MTY].
When the captain had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with the hand to the people. When there was a deep silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language. He said,
