Acts 21

1After we said a hard goodbye to them, we set sail and went straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

2We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board, and set sail.

3We saw Cyprus and passed south of it. Then we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where our ship was going to unload its cargo.

4We found the disciples there and stayed with them for seven days. Through the Spirit, they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

5When it was time to leave, we set out again. All of them, along with their wives and children, walked with us out of the city. There on the beach, we knelt down and prayed.

6After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

7We continued our trip from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais. There we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day.

8The next day we left and reached Caesarea. We stayed at the house of Philip, who preached the good news and was one of the seven men chosen earlier.

9He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

10After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

11Agabus came over to us. He took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said: The Holy Spirit says: In this way, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will tie up the owner of this belt. They will hand him over to the non-Jewish people.

12When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

13Then Paul answered: Why are you crying and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

14When Paul would not change his mind, we gave up and said: Let the Lord's will be done.

15After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.

16Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us. They brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the first disciples.

17When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly.

18The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.

19Paul greeted them and gave a full report of what God had done among the non-Jewish people through his work.

20When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed. All of them are very serious about keeping the law.

21They have been told that you teach all the Jews who live among the non-Jewish people to turn away from Moses. They say you tell them not to circumcise their children or live by our customs.

22What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come,

23So do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a promise to God.

24Take these men and join them in the cleansing ceremony. Pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that these reports about you are not true, and that you yourself obey the law.

25As for the non-Jewish believers, we have written to them our decision. They should stay away from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual sin.

26The next day, Paul took the men and went through the cleansing ceremony with them. Then he went to the temple to announce the date when the days of cleansing would end, and the offering would be made for each of them.

27When the seven days were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and grabbed him,

28Shouting: Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. He has even brought Greeks into the temple and made this holy place unclean.

29They had seen Trophimus, a man from Ephesus, in the city with Paul before. They assumed Paul had brought him into the temple.

30The whole city was stirred up, and people came running from every direction. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and right away the gates were shut.

31While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.

32He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33The commander came and arrested Paul. He ordered him to be tied up with two chains. Then he asked who Paul was and what he had done.

34Some in the crowd shouted one thing, and some shouted another. The commander could not learn the truth because of all the noise. So he ordered that Paul be taken into the fort.

35When Paul reached the steps, the mob was so violent that the soldiers had to carry him.

36The crowd that followed kept shouting: Get rid of him!

37As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the fort, he asked the commander: May I say something to you? The commander replied: Do you speak Greek?

38Are you not the Egyptian man who started a revolt some time ago, and led four thousand armed rebels out into the wilderness?

39Paul answered: I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.

40After receiving the commander's permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: