Acts 21:27-40

Paul Seized in the Temple

27 When ¹the seven days were almost over, ²the Jews from ³Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him,

28 crying out, "Men of Israel, come to our aid! ⁴This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has ⁵defiled this holy place."

29 For they had previously seen ⁶Trophimus the ⁷Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

30 Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they ⁸dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

31 While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the ⁹Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

32 At once he ¹⁰took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; 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 him to be ¹¹bound with ¹²two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

34 But among the crowd ¹³some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ¹⁴the barracks.

35 When he got to ¹⁵the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;

36 for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, "¹⁶Away with him!"

37 As Paul was about to be brought into ¹⁷the barracks, he said to the commander, "May I say something to you?" And he said, "Do you know Greek?

38 "Then you are not ¹⁸the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ¹⁹into the wilderness?"

39 But Paul said, "²⁰I am a Jew of Tarsus in ²¹Cilicia, 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 ²²the stairs, ²³motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the ²⁴Hebrew dialect, saying,

Cross References

• 1. Num 6:9, 13-20
• 2. Acts 20:19; Acts 24:18
• 3. Acts 16:6
• 4. Acts 6:13
• 5. Matthew 24:15; Acts 6:13; Acts 24:6
• 6. Acts 20:4
• 7. Acts 18:19
• 8. 2 Kings 11:15; Acts 16:19; Acts 26:21
• 9. Acts 10:1
• 10. Acts 23:27
• 11. Acts 20:23; Acts 21:11; Acts 22:29; Acts 26:29; Acts 28:20; Ephesians 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:16; 2 Timothy 2:9
• 12. Acts 12:6
• 13. Acts 19:32
• 14. Acts 21:37; Acts 22:24; Acts 23:10, 16, 32
• 15. Acts 21:40
• 16. Luke 23:18; John 19:15; Acts 22:22
• 17. Acts 21:34; Acts 22:24; Acts 23:10, 16, 32
• 18. Acts 5:36
• 19. Matthew 24:26
• 20. Acts 9:11; Acts 22:3
• 21. Acts 6:9
• 22. Acts 21:35
• 23. Acts 12:17
• 24. John 5:2; Acts 1:19; Acts 22:2; Acts 26:14

Footnotes

• [a]. I.e. west coast province of Asia Minor
• [b]. Lit "a running together of the people occurred"
• [c]. I.e. chiliarch, in command of one thousand troops
• [d]. Or "battalion"
• [e]. V 31, note 1
• [f]. V 31, note 1
• [g]. Lit "certainty"
• [h]. Lit "crowd"
• [i]. V 31, note 1
• [j]. Lit "days"
• [k]. Lit "occurred"
• [l]. I.e. Jewish Aramaic