Acts 21-24

New American Standard Bible

Paul Sails from Miletus

21 Now when ^(A)we had parted from them and had set sail, we ran ^(B)a straight course to Cos, and on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara; ² and having found a ship crossing over to ^(C)Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we came in sight of ^(D)Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to ^(E)Syria and landed at ^(F)Tyre; for the ship was to unload its cargo there. ⁴ After looking up ^(G)the disciples, we stayed there for seven days; and they kept telling Paul, ^[a](H)through the Spirit, not to set foot in Jerusalem. ⁵ When ^[b]our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, ^(I)escorted us until we were out of the city. After ^(J)kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. ⁶ Then we boarded the ship, and they returned ^(K)home.

⁷ When we had finished the voyage from ^(L)Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and after greeting ^(M)the brothers and sisters, we stayed with them for a day. ⁸ On the next day we left and came to ^(N)Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^(O)Philip the ^(P)evangelist, who was ^(Q)one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters who were ^(R)prophetesses. ¹⁰ As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named ^(S)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ And he came to us and ^(T)took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This ^(U)is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will ^(V)bind the man who owns this belt and ^(W)hand him over to the Gentiles.’” ¹² When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him ^(X)not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^(Y)I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for ^(Z)the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ And since he would not be persuaded, we became quiet, remarking, “^(AA)The will of the Lord be done!”

Paul in Jerusalem

¹⁵ After these days we got ready and ^(AB)started on our way up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of ^(AC)the disciples from ^(AD)Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of ^(AE)Cyprus, a ^(AF)disciple of long standing with whom we were to stay.

¹⁷ After we arrived in Jerusalem, ^(AG)the brothers and sisters received us gladly. ¹⁸ And the following day Paul went in with us to ^[c](AH)James, and all ^(AI)the elders were present. ¹⁹ After he had greeted them, he ^(AJ)began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ^(AK)ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard about them, they began ^(AL)glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many ^[d]thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all ^(AM)zealous for the Law; ²¹ and they have been told about you, that you are ^(AN)teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them ^(AO)not to circumcise their children nor to ^[e]walk according to ^(AP)the customs. ²² So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore, do ^[f]as we tell you: we have four men who ^(AQ)have a ^[g]vow upon themselves; ²⁴ take them along and ^(AR)purify yourself together with them, and ^[h]pay their expenses so that they may ^(AS)shave their ^[i]heads; and then everyone will know that there is nothing to what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also conform, keeping the Law. ²⁵ But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we sent a letter, ^(AT)having decided that they should abstain from ^[j]meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and what is ^[k]strangled, and from sexual immorality.” ²⁶ Then Paul ^[l]took along the men, and the next day, after ^(AU)purifying himself together with them, he ^(AV)went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

Paul Seized in the Temple

²⁷ When ^(AW)the seven days were almost over, ^(AX)the Jews from ^[m](AY)Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! ^(AZ)This is the man who instructs everyone everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has ^(BA)defiled this holy place!” ²⁹ For they had previously seen ^(BB)Trophimus the ^(BC)Ephesian in the city with him, and they thought that Paul had brought him into the temple. ³⁰ Then the whole city was provoked and ^[n]the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they ^(BD)dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹ While they were intent on killing him, a report came up to the commander of the ^(BE)Roman ^[o]cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ³² He immediately ^(BF)took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to ^[p]the crowd; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered that he be ^(BG)bound with ^(BH)two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ But among the crowd, ^(BI)some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the ^[q]facts because of the uproar, he ordered that ^[r]Paul be brought into ^(BJ)the barracks. ³⁵ When Paul got to ^(BK)the stairs, it came about that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the ^[s]mob; ³⁶ for the multitude of people kept following them, shouting, “^(BL)Away with him!”

³⁷ As Paul was about to be brought into ^(BM)the barracks, he *said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? ³⁸ Then you are not ^(BN)the Egyptian who some ^[t]time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^(BO)into the wilderness?” ³⁹ But Paul said, “^(BP)I am a Jew of Tarsus in ^(BQ)Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” ⁴⁰ When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on ^(BR)the stairs, ^(BS)motioned to the people with his hand; and when there ^[u]was a great silence, he spoke to them in the ^[v](BT)Hebrew dialect, saying,

Paul’s Defense before the Jews

22 “^(BU)[w]Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.”

² And when they heard that he was addressing them in the ^[x](BV)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,

³ “^(BW)I am ^(BX)a Jew, born in ^(BY)Tarsus of ^(BZ)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^[y]under ^(CA)Gamaliel, ^[z](CB)strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as ^(CC)you all are today. ^4 (CD)I persecuted this ^(CE)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, ⁵ as also ^(CF)the high priest and all ^(CG)the Council of the elders ^[aa]can testify. From them I also ^(CH)received letters to ^(CI)the brothers, and started off for ^(CJ)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem ^[ab]as prisoners to be punished.

⁶ “^(CK)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, ⁷ and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am ^(CL)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ And those who were with me ^(CM)saw the light, but ^(CN)did not ^[ac]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ And I said, ‘^(CO)What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ But since I ^(CP)could not see because of the ^[ad]brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.

¹² “Now a certain ^(CQ)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and ^(CR)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, ¹³ came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘^(CS)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And ^[ae](CT)at that very moment I looked up at him. ¹⁴ And he said, ‘^(CU)The God of our fathers has ^(CV)appointed you to know His will and to ^(CW)see the ^(CX)Righteous One and to hear a ^[af]message from His mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be ^(CY)a witness for Him to all people of ^(CZ)what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now why do you delay? ^(DA)Get up and be baptized, and ^(DB)wash away your sins by ^(DC)calling on His name.’

¹⁷ “It happened when I ^(DD)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I ^(DE)fell into a trance, ¹⁸ and I saw Him saying to me, ‘^(DF)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ ¹⁹ And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another ^(DG)I used to imprison and ^(DH)beat those who believed in You. ²⁰ And ^(DI)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ ²¹ And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away ^(DJ)to the Gentiles.’”

²² They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “^(DK)Away with such a man from the earth, for ^(DL)he should not be allowed to live!” ²³ And as they were shouting and ^(DM)throwing off their cloaks and ^(DN)tossing dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that he be brought into ^(DO)the barracks, saying that he was to be ^(DP)interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. ²⁵ But when they stretched him out ^[ag]with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it ^[ah]lawful for you to flog ^(DQ)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” ²⁷ The commander came and said to ^[ai]Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸ The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” ²⁹ Therefore, those who were about to ^(DR)interrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also ^(DS)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had ^[aj](DT)put him in chains.

³⁰ Now on the next day, ^(DU)wanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he ^(DV)released him and ordered the chief priests and all ^(DW)the ^[ak]Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.

Paul before the Council

23 Now looking intently at ^(DX)the ^[al]Council, Paul said, “^[am](DY)Brothers, ^(DZ)I have ^[an]lived my life with an entirely good conscience before God up to this day.” ² But the high priest ^(EA)Ananias commanded those standing beside him ^(EB)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, ^(EC)you whitewashed wall! Do you ^(ED)sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?” ⁴ But those present said, “Are you insulting God’s high priest?” ⁵ And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he is high priest; for it is written: ‘^(EE)You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ But Paul, perceiving that one group were ^(EF)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, began crying out in ^(EG)the ^[ao]Council, “^[ap](EH)Brothers, ^(EI)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for ^(EJ)the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ When he said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For ^(EK)the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And a great uproar occurred; and some of ^(EL)the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and started arguing heatedly, saying, “^(EM)We find nothing wrong with this man; ^(EN)suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ¹⁰ And when a great dissension occurred, the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, and he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into ^(EO)the barracks.

¹¹ But on ^(EP)the following night, the Lord stood near him and said, “^(EQ)Be courageous! For ^(ER)as you have ^(ES)testified to the truth about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome also.”

A Conspiracy to Kill Paul

¹² When it was day, ^(ET)the Jews formed a ^[aq]conspiracy and ^(EU)put themselves under an ^[ar]oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ There were more than forty who formed this plot. ¹⁴ They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have ^(EV)put ourselves under an ^[as]oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now therefore, you ^[at]and ^(EW)the ^[au]Council notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly; and as for us, we are ready to kill him before he comes near the place.”

¹⁶ But the son of Paul’s sister heard about their ambush, ^[av]and he came and entered ^(EX)the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Paul called one of the centurions to himself and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.” ¹⁸ So he took him and led him to the commander and *said, “Paul ^(EY)the prisoner called me over to him and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” ¹⁹ The commander took him by the hand, and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?” ²⁰ And he said, “^(EZ)The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to ^(FA)the ^[aw]Council, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more thoroughly about him. ²¹ So do not ^[ax]listen to them, for more than forty ^[ay]of them are ^(FB)in hiding to ambush him, and these men have ^(FC)put themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they kill him; and now they are ready and waiting for assurance from you.” ²² Then the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

Paul Moved to Caesarea

²³ And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by ^[az]the third hour of the night to proceed to ^(FD)Caesarea, ^[ba]with seventy horsemen and two hundred ^[bb]spearmen.” ²⁴ They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to ^(FE)Felix the governor. ²⁵ And he wrote a letter ^[bc]with the following content:

³¹ So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. ³² But on the next day they let ^(FR)the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to ^(FS)the barracks. ³³ When these horsemen had come to ^(FT)Caesarea and delivered the letter to ^(FU)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. ³⁴ Now when he had read it, he also asked from what ^(FV)province Paul was, and when he learned that ^(FW)he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will give you a hearing when your ^(FX)accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for ^[bh]Paul to be ^(FY)kept in Herod’s ^[bi]Praetorium.

Paul before Felix

24 Now after ^(FZ)five days the high priest ^(GA)Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they ^[bj]brought charges against Paul to ^(GB)the governor. ² After ^[bk]Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began accusing him, saying to the governor,

“Since we have attained great peace through you, and since reforms are being carried out for this nation by your foresight, ³ we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, ^(GC)most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. ⁴ But, that I may not ^[bl]weary you further, I beg you ^[bm]to grant us a brief hearing, by your kindness. ⁵ For we have found this man a public menace and one who stirs up dissensions among all the Jews throughout ^[bn]the world, and a ringleader of the ^(GD)sect of the Nazarenes. ⁶ And he even tried to ^(GE)desecrate the temple, so indeed we arrested him.^{[bo] 8} By interrogating him yourself concerning all these matters, you will be able to ascertain the things of which we are accusing him.” ^9 (GF)The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.

¹⁰ And when ^(GG)the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense, ¹¹ since you can take note of the fact that no more than ^(GH)twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ^12 (GI)And neither in the temple did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or ^(GJ)causing ^[bp]a riot, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself. ^13 (GK)Nor can they prove to you the things of which they now accuse me. ¹⁴ But I confess this to you, that in accordance with ^[bq](GL)the Way, which they call a ^(GM)sect, I do serve ^(GN)the God of our fathers, ^(GO)believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets; ¹⁵ having a hope in God, which ^(GP)these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶ In view of this ^(GQ)I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people, always. ¹⁷ Now ^(GR)after several years I ^(GS)came to bring charitable gifts to my nation and to present offerings, ¹⁸ in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been ^(GT)purified, without any ^(GU)crowd or uproar. But there were some ^(GV)Jews from ^[br]Asia— ¹⁹ who ought to have been present before you and to have been ^(GW)bringing charges, if they should have anything against me. ²⁰ Or else have these men themselves declare what violation they discovered when I stood before ^(GX)the ^[bs]Council, ²¹ other than in regard to this one declaration which ^(GY)I shouted while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today!’”

²² But Felix, ^[bt]having quite accurate knowledge about ^[bu](GZ)the Way, adjourned them, saying, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will decide your case.” ²³ He gave orders to the centurion for ^[bv]Paul to be ^(HA)kept in custody and yet ^(HB)have some freedom, and not to prevent any of ^(HC)his friends from providing for his needs.

²⁴ Now some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla his ^[bw]wife, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about ^(HD)faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But as he was discussing ^(HE)righteousness, ^(HF)self-control, and ^(HG)the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and responded, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time he was also hoping that ^(HH)money would be given to him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and talk with him. ²⁷ But after two years had passed, Felix ^[bx]was succeeded by Porcius ^(HI)Festus; and Felix, ^(HJ)wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul ^(HK)imprisoned.