Acts 21–26

Warnings on the Journey to Jerusalem

21Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. ²And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. ⁴And finding ¹disciples, we stayed there seven days. ^aThey told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. ⁵When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And ^bwe knelt down on the shore and prayed. ⁶When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned ^chome.

⁷And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. ⁸On the next day we ²who were Paul’s companions departed and came to ^dCaesarea, and entered the house of Philip ^ethe evangelist, ^fwho was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹Now this man had four virgin daughters ^gwho prophesied. ¹⁰And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named ^hAgabus came down from Judea. ¹¹When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ⁱ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹²Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³Then Paul answered, ^j“What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, ^k“The will of the Lord be done.”

Paul Urged to Make Peace

¹⁵And after those days we ³packed and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

^17lAnd when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸On the following day Paul went in with us to ^mJames, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹When he had greeted them, ⁿhe told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles ^othrough his ministry. ²⁰And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ^pzealous for the law; ²¹but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. ²²⁴What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. ²³Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. ²⁴Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may ^qshave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. ²⁵But concerning the Gentiles who believe, ^rwe have written and decided ⁵that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from ⁶sexual immorality.”

Arrested in the Temple

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, ^sentered the temple ^tto announce the ⁷expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

²⁷Now when the seven days were almost ended, ^uthe Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and ^vlaid hands on him, ²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man ^wwho teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹(For they had ⁸previously seen ^xTrophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰And ^yall the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹Now as they were ^zseeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the ⁹garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ^32aHe immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³Then the ^bcommander came near and took him, and ^ccommanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another.

So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. ³⁵When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. ³⁶For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, ^d“Away with him!”

Addressing the Jerusalem Mob

³⁷Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?”

He replied, “Can you speak Greek? ^38eAre you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹But Paul said, ^f“I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no ¹mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and ^gmotioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the ^hHebrew language, saying,

22“Brethren ^aand fathers, hear my defense before you now.” ²And when they heard that he spoke to them in the ^bHebrew language, they kept all the more silent.

Then he said: ^3c“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city ^dat the feet of ^eGamaliel, taught ^faccording to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and ^gwas zealous toward God ^has you all are today. ⁴ⁱI persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, ⁵as also the high priest bears me witness, and ^jall the council of the elders, ^kfrom whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus ^lto bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶“Now ^mit happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. ⁷And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹“And ⁿthose who were with me indeed saw the light ¹and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. ¹⁰So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹²“Then ^oa certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, ^phaving a good testimony with all the ^qJews who dwelt there, ¹³came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. ¹⁴Then he said, ^r‘The God of our fathers ^shas chosen you that you should ^tknow His will, and ^usee the Just One, ^vand hear the voice of His mouth. ^15wFor you will be His witness to all men of ^xwhat you have seen and heard. ¹⁶And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, ^yand wash away your sins, ^zcalling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷“Now ^ait happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance ¹⁸and ^bsaw Him saying to me, ^c‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ ¹⁹So I said, ‘Lord, ^dthey know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and ^ebeat those who believe on You. ^20fAnd when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by ^gconsenting ²to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ ²¹Then He said to me, ‘Depart, ^hfor I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”

Paul’s Roman Citizenship

²²And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, ⁱ“Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^jhe is not fit to live!” ²³Then, as they cried out and ³tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, ²⁴the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. ²⁵And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, ^k“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”

²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”

²⁷Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”

He said, “Yes.”

²⁸The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.”

And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

²⁹Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

The Sanhedrin Divided

³⁰The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

23Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, ^aI have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” ²And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him ^bto strike him on the mouth. ³Then Paul said to him, “God…