Acts 21

¹And when we had torn ourselves away from them and put out to sea, we ran a straight course and came to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

²And finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail.

³And having sighted Cyprus and leaving it behind on the left, we sailed to Syria and put in at Tyre; for there the ship was unloading its cargo.

⁴And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul, through the Spirit, not to set foot in Jerusalem.

⁵And when it happened that we had completed the days, having set out we journeyed on, while they all, with wives and children, accompanied us as far as outside the city; and kneeling down on the shore and praying,

⁶We said farewell to one another and went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes.

⁷And we, having completed the voyage from Tyre, arrived at Ptolemais, and having greeted the brothers, we stayed one day with them.

⁸And on the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him.

⁹Now this man had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

¹⁰And while we were staying for many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹And coming to us and taking up Paul's belt, he bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit: The man whose belt this is, in this way will the Jews in Jerusalem bind him and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

¹²And when we heard these things, both we and the local people kept begging him not to go up to Jerusalem.

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 at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁴And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, saying, 'The Lord's will be done.'

¹⁵And after these days, having made our preparations, we went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁶And some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing us to the one with whom we should lodge, a certain Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing.

¹⁷And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.

¹⁸And on the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.

¹⁹And having greeted them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

²⁰And when they heard it, they glorified God, and said to him, 'You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law.'

²¹And they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.

²²What then is to be done? Certainly a crowd must come together, for they will hear that you have come.

²³Therefore do this that we tell you: we have four men who have taken a vow upon themselves.

²⁴Take these men and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may have their heads shaved; then all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the law.

²⁵But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they keep themselves from what is sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and on the next day, having purified himself with them, he entered the temple, giving notice of when the days of purification would be completed, until the offering should be presented for each one of them.

²⁷And when the seven days were about to be completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid their hands on him,

²⁸crying out, Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place; and furthermore he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.

²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.

³⁰And the whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together; and seizing Paul, they dragged him outside the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

³¹And while they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

³²who at once, taking along soldiers and centurions, ran down upon them; and when they saw the commanding officer and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

³³Then the commanding officer, having drawn near, seized him and commanded him to be bound with two chains, and he was inquiring who he might be and what he had done.

³⁴And some were crying out one thing, and others another thing, in the crowd. And he, not being able to ascertain the certainty on account of the uproar, commanded him to be led into the barracks.

³⁵And when he came to the steps, it happened that he was being carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd.

³⁶For the multitude of the people was following, crying out, 'Away with him!'

³⁷And as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commanding officer, 'May I say something to you?' And he said, 'Do you know Greek?'

³⁸Are you not then the Egyptian who before these days stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?

³⁹But Paul said, 'I am a Jewish man, a Tarsian of Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.'

⁴⁰And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when great silence had fallen, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying: