Acts 21
He Bound His Own Hands and Went Up Anyway
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The Voyage to Tyre
21:1When we had torn ourselves away from them and set sail, we made a straight course to Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
21:2We found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, went aboard, and set sail.
21:3We sighted Cyprus and left it on the left, sailed toward Syria, and landed at Tyre, for the ship was to unload its cargo there.
21:4We sought out the disciples and stayed there seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem.
21:5When our days there were completed, we left and went on our way. They all accompanied us, with wives and children, as far as outside the city. We knelt on the beach and prayed,
21:6then said farewell to one another. We boarded the ship, and they returned to their homes.
21:7Completing the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, greeted the brothers, and stayed with them for one day.
Agabus at Caesarea
21:8The next day we departed and came to Caesarea. We entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
21:9He had four daughters who were virgins and prophesied.
21:10While we stayed for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
21:11He came to us, took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit: ‘The Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man whose belt this is in this way and hand him over into Gentile hands.’”
21:12When we heard these things, both we and the local people urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
21:13Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
21:14Since he would not be persuaded, we became silent and said, “Let the Lord’s will be done.”
Going Up to Jerusalem
21:15After these days we made our preparations and went up to Jerusalem.
21:16Some disciples from Caesarea also went with us, taking us to a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.
21:17When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.
Paul Visits James
21:18The next day Paul went with us to James, and all the elders were present.
21:19After greeting them, he related one by one the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
21:20When they heard, they glorified God and said to him, “You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of Jews have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.
21:21They have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk in the customs.
21:22What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.
21:23Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow upon themselves.
21:24Take these men, purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads. Then everyone will know that there is nothing to what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk in order, keeping the law.
21:25But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent word, judging that they should keep themselves from what is sacrificed to idols, blood, what is strangled, and sexual immorality.”
21:26Then Paul took the men, and on the next day, after purifying himself with them, he entered the temple, giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, up to the presentation of the offering for each one of them.
Paul Seized in the Temple
21:27When the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and laid hands on him,
21:28crying, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against the people, the law, and this place. Moreover, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
21:29For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city and supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
21:30The whole city was stirred, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him outside the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.
21:31While they were seeking to kill him, a report reached the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
21:32He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
21:33Then the tribune approached, seized him, and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.
21:34Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another. Since he could learn nothing certain because of the uproar, he ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks.
21:35When he reached the steps, the soldiers had to carry him because of the crowd’s violence,
21:36for the multitude of the people followed, crying, “Away with him!”
Paul Asks to Address the People
21:37As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” He said, “Do you know Greek?
21:38Then are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Sicarii into the wilderness?”
21:39Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I ask you, allow me to speak to the people.”
21:40When he gave permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When a great silence fell, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V2 · working draft awaiting specialist review.