^21:27When the seven days were almost over,⁹⁵ the Jews from the province of Asia⁹⁶ who had seen him in the temple area⁹⁷ stirred up the whole crowd⁹⁸ and seized⁹⁹ him, ^21:28shouting, “Men of Israel,¹⁰⁰ help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law,¹⁰¹ and this sanctuary!¹⁰² Furthermore¹⁰³ he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple¹⁰⁴ and made this holy place ritually unclean!”¹⁰⁵^21:29(For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and¹⁰⁶ they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.)¹⁰⁷

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Footnotes

95 συντελέω 4 has “to come to an end of a duration, come to an end, be over … Ac 21:27.”
96 Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia. Note how there is a sense of Paul being pursued from a distance. These Jews may well have been from Ephesus, since they recognized Trophimus the Ephesian (v. 29).
97 Grk “in the temple.” See the note on the word “temple” in v. .
98 Or “threw the whole crowd into consternation.” L&N 25.221 has “συνέχεον πάντα τὸν ὅχλον ‘they threw the whole crowd into consternation’ Ac 21:27. It is also possible to render the expression in Ac 21:27 as ‘they stirred up the whole crowd.’ ”
99 Grk “and laid hands on.”
100 Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage since “the whole crowd” is mentioned in v. 27, although it can also be argued that these remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
101 The law refers to the law of Moses.
102 Grk “this place.” This sanctuary refers to the temple. The charges were not new, but were similar to those made against Stephen (Acts 6:14) and Jesus (Luke 23:2).
103 ἔτι 2.b has “ἔ. δὲ καί furthermore … al. ἔ. τε καί … Lk 14:26; Ac 21:28.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek, but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.
104 Grk “into the temple.” The specific reference is to the Court of the Sons of Israel (see the note following the term “unclean” at the end of this verse). To avoid giving the modern reader the impression that they entered the temple building itself, the phrase “the inner courts of the temple” has been used in the translation.
105 Or “and has defiled this holy place.” Has brought Greeks … unclean. Note how the issue is both religious and ethnic, showing a different attitude by the Jews. A Gentile was not permitted to enter the inner temple precincts (contrast Eph 2:11–22). According to Josephus ( 15.11.5 [15.417]; 5.5.2 [5.193], cf. 5.5.6 [5.227]), the inner temple courts (the Court of the Women, the Court of the Sons of Israel, and the Court of the Priests) were raised slightly above the level of the Court of the Gentiles and were surrounded by a wall about 5 ft (1.5 m) high. Notices in both Greek and Latin (two of which have been discovered) warned that any Gentiles who ventured into the inner courts would be responsible for their own deaths. See also Philo, 31 (212). In Middot 2:3 this wall was called “soreq” and according to Sanhedrin 9:6 the stranger who trespassed beyond the soreq would die by the hand of God.
106 Grk “whom.”
107 On the phrase “inner temple courts” see the note on the word “temple” in v. . This is a parenthetical note by the author. The note explains the cause of the charge and also notes that it was false.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even 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 supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

NLTNew Living Translation

The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.” (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But when the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia who had seen him in the temple courts stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, shouting, “Israelite men, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place! And furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!” (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they thought that Paul had brought into the temple.)

KJV 1900King James Version

And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

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