Acts 21–26

21ST CHAPTER

Paul in Tyre

¹When we finally left them, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we sailed to the island of Rhodes and from there to the city of Patara. ²In Patara, we found a ship that was going to Phoenicia, so we went aboard and sailed away. ³We could see the island of Cyprus as we passed it on our left and sailed to Syria. We landed at the city of Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo. 

⁴In Tyre we searched for the disciples. After we found them, we stayed there for seven days. The Spirit had the disciples tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ⁵When our time was up, we started on our way. All of them with their wives and children accompanied us out of the city. We knelt on the beach, prayed, ⁶and said goodbye to each other. Then we went aboard the ship, and the disciples went back home. 

Paul in Caesarea

⁷Our sea travel ended when we sailed from Tyre to the city of Ptolemais. We greeted the believers in Ptolemais and spent the day with them. ⁸The next day we went to Philip’s home in Caesarea and stayed with him. He was a missionary and one of the seven men who helped the apostles. ⁹Philip had four unmarried daughters who had the ability to speak what God had revealed. 

¹⁰After we had been there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. ¹¹During his visit he took Paul’s belt and tied his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man who owns this belt. Then they will hand him over to people who are not Jewish.’ ” 

¹²When we heard this, we and the believers who lived there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. 

¹³Then Paul replied, “Why are you crying like this and breaking my heart? I’m ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but also to die there for the sake of the Lord, the one named Jesus.” 

¹⁴When Paul could not be persuaded, we dropped the issue and said, “May the Lord’s will be done.” 

Paul in Jerusalem

¹⁵After that, we got ready to go to Jerusalem. ¹⁶Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us. They took us to Mnason’s home, where we would be staying. Mnason was from the island of Cyprus and was one of the first disciples. ¹⁷When we arrived in Jerusalem, the believers welcomed us warmly. 

¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to visit James. All the spiritual leaders^awere present. ¹⁹After greeting them, Paul related everything God had done through his work with non-Jewish people. 

²⁰When the spiritual leaders heard about everything, they praised God. They said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews are now believers, and all of them are deeply committed to Moses’ Teachings. ²¹But they have been told that you teach all the Jews living among non-Jewish people to abandon Moses. They claim that you tell them not to circumcise their children or follow Jewish customs. ²²What should we do about this? They will certainly hear that you’re in town. ²³So follow our advice. We have four men who have made a vow to God. ²⁴Take these men, go through the purification ceremony with them, and pay the expenses to shave their heads. Then everyone will know that what they’ve been told about you isn’t true. Instead, they’ll see that you carefully follow Moses’ Teachings. 

²⁵⸤To clarify this matter⸥ we have written non-Jewish believers a letter with our decision. We told them that they should not eat food sacrificed to false gods, bloody meat, or the meat of strangled animals. They also should not commit sexual sins.” 

²⁶The next day, Paul took the men and went through the purification ceremony with them. Then he went into the temple courtyard to announce the time when the purification would be over and the sacrifice would be offered for each of them. 

²⁷When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the temple courtyard. They stirred up the whole crowd and grabbed Paul. ²⁸Then they began shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere to turn against the Jewish people, Moses’ Teachings, and this temple. He has even brought Greeks into the temple courtyard and has made this holy place unclean.”^b29They had seen Trophimus from Ephesus with him in the city earlier and thought Paul had taken him into the temple courtyard. 

³⁰The whole city was in chaos, and a mob formed. The mob grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple courtyard. The courtyard doors were immediately shut. 

³¹As the people were trying to kill Paul, the officer in charge of the Roman soldiers received a report that all Jerusalem was rioting. ³²Immediately, he took some soldiers and officers and charged the crowd. When the crowd saw the officer and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³Then the officer went to Paul, grabbed him, and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. 

The officer asked who Paul was and what he had done. ³⁴Some of the crowd shouted one thing, while others shouted something else. The officer couldn’t get any facts because of the noise and confusion, so he ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks. ³⁵When Paul came to the stairs of the barracks, the crowd was so violent that the soldiers had to carry him. ³⁶The mob was behind them shouting, “Kill him!” 

Paul Speaks in His Own Defense

³⁷As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the officer, “May I say something to you?” 

The officer replied to Paul, “Can you speak Greek? ³⁸Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolution not long ago and led four thousand terrorists into the desert?” 

³⁹Paul answered, “I’m a Jew, a citizen from the well-known city of Tarsus in Cilicia. I’m asking you to let me talk to the people.” 

⁴⁰The officer gave Paul permission to speak. So Paul stood on the stairs of the barracks and motioned with his hand for the people to be quiet. When the mob was silent, Paul spoke to them in the Hebrew language. 

22ND CHAPTER

¹“Brothers and fathers, listen as I now present my case to you.” 

²When the mob heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul continued, ³“I’m a Jew. I was born and raised in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia and received my education from Gamaliel here in Jerusalem. My education was in the strict laws handed down by our ancestors. I was as devoted to God as all of you are today. ⁴I persecuted people who followed the way ⸤of Christ⸥: I tied up men and women and put them into prison until they were executed. ⁵The chief priest and the entire council of our leaders can prove that I did this. In fact, they even gave me letters to take to the Jewish community in the city of Damascus. I was going there to tie up believers and bring them back to Jerusalem to punish them. 

⁶“But as I was on my way and approaching the city of Damascus about noon, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice asking me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’ 

⁸“I answered, ‘Who are you, sir?’ 

“The person told me, ‘I’m Jesus from Nazareth, the one you’re persecuting.’ 

⁹“The men who were with me saw the light but didn’t understand what the person who was speaking to me said. 

¹⁰“Then I asked, ‘What do you want me to do, Lord?’ 

“The Lord told me, ‘Get up! Go into the city of Damascus, and you’ll be told everything I’ve arranged for you to do.’ 

¹¹“I was blind because the light had been so bright. So the men who were with me led me into the city of Damascus. 

¹²“A man named Ananias lived in Damascus. He was a devout person who followed Moses’ Teachings. All the Jews living in Damascus spoke highly of him. ¹³He came to me, stood beside me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that moment my sight came back and I could see Ananias. 

¹⁴“Ananias said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the one who has God’s approval, and to hear him speak to you. ¹⁵You will be his witness and will tell everyone what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶What are you waiting for now? Get up! Be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’ 

¹⁷“After that, I returned to Jerusalem. While I was praying in the temple courtyard, I fell into a trance ¹⁸and saw the Lord. He told me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem immediately. The people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’ 

¹⁹“I said, ‘Lord, people here know that I went from synagogue to synagogue to imprison and whip those who believe in you. ²⁰When Stephen, who witnessed about you, was being killed, I was standing there. I approved of his death and guarded the coats of those who were murdering him.’ 

²¹“But the Lord told me, ‘Go! I’ll send you on a mission. You’ll go far away to people who aren’t Jewish.’ ” 

²²Up to that point the mob listened. Then they began to shout, “Kill him! The world doesn’t need a man like this. He shouldn’t have been allowed to live this long!” 

²³The mob was yelling, taking off their coats, and throwing dirt into the air. ²⁴So the officer ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the barracks and told them to question Paul as they whipped him. The officer wanted to find out why the people were yelling at Paul like this. ²⁵But when the soldiers had Paul stretch out ⸤to tie him to the whipping post⸥ with the straps, Paul asked the sergeant who was standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t had a trial?” 

²⁶When the sergeant heard this, he reported it to his commanding officer. The sergeant asked him, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.” 

²⁷The officer went to Paul and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” 

Paul answered, “Yes.” 

²⁸The officer replied, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.” 

Paul replied, “But I was born a Roman citizen.” 

²⁹Immediately, the soldiers who were going to question Paul stepped away from him. The officer was afraid when he found out that he had tied up a Roman citizen. 

Paul in Front of the Jewish Council

³⁰The officer wanted to find out exactly what…