Acts 21:23–40

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,