Act 21:2-22:24, 25:23-26:32 | ESV | STEP | And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia , we went aboard and set sail .

2 And having found a ship crossing to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. 3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And ^athrough the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, ^baccompanied us until we were outside the city. And ^ckneeling down on the beach, we prayed 6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.

7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted ^dthe brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 17} and stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of ^fPhilip ^gthe evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters, ^hwho prophesied. 10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named ⁱAgabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he ^jtook Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^k“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^l‘This is how the Jews ^{▼▼Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time} at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ⁿdeliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there ^ourged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, ^p“What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For ^qI am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem ^rfor the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, ^swe ceased and said, ^t“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. 16 And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge.

Paul Visits James

17 When we had come to Jerusalem, ^uthe brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to ^vJames, and all ^wthe elders were present. 19 After greeting them, ^xhe related one by one ^ythe things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ^zministry. 20 And when they heard it, they ^aaglorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all ^abzealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all ^acthe Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, ^adtelling them ^aenot to circumcise their children or ^afwalk according to ^agour customs. 22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men ^ahwho are under a vow; 24 take these men and ^aipurify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ^ajso that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, ^akwe have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit and from what has been strangled} and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day ^amhe purified himself along with them and ^anwent into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and ^aothe offering presented for each one of them.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

27 When ^apthe seven days were almost completed, ^aqthe Jews from Asia, ^arseeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who ^asis teaching everyone everywhere against the people and ^atthe law and ^authis place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and ^avhas defiled ^awthis holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen ^axTrophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and ^aydragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 ^azAnd as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of ^bathe cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 ^bbHe at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him ^bcto be bound ^bdwith two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 ^beSome in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into ^bfthe barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, ^bg“Away with him!”

Paul Speaks to the People

37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not ^bhthe Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out ^biinto the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, ^bj“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, ^bkmotioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in ^blthe Hebrew language, ^{▼▼Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)} saying:

Acts 22:1-24

1 ^bn“Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”

2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in ^bothe Hebrew language, ^{▼▼Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)} they became even more quiet. And he said:

3 ^bq“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated ^brat the feet of ^bsGamaliel ^{▼▼Or city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated} ^buaccording to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, ^bvbeing zealous for God ^bwas all of you are this day. 4 ^bxI persecuted ^bythis Way ^bzto the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as ^cathe high priest and ^cbthe whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to ^ccthe brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

6 ^cd“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone 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 ^ceJesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 ^cfNow those who were with me saw the light but did not understand ^{▼▼Or hear with understanding} the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ^ch‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ 11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.

12 “And ^cione Ananias, a devout man ^cjaccording to the law, ^ckwell spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 ^clcame to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And ^cmat that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 14 And he said, ^cn‘The God of our fathers ^coappointed you to know his will, ^cpto see ^cqthe Righteous One and ^crto hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for ^csyou will be a witness for him to everyone of what ^ctyou have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? ^cuRise and be baptized and ^cvwash away your sins, ^cwcalling on his name.’

17 ^cx“When I had returned to Jerusalem and ^cywas praying in the temple, I fell into ^cza trance 18 and saw him saying to me, ^da‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another ^dbI imprisoned and ^dcbeat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen ^ddyour witness was being shed, ^deI myself was standing by and ^dfapproving and ^dgwatching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you ^dhfar away to the Gentiles.’”

Paul and the Roman Tribune

22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ^di“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For ^djhe should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into ^dkthe barracks, saying that he should be ^dlexamined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this.

Acts 25:23-27

23 So on the next day ^dmAgrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom ^dnthe whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, ^doshouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that ^dphe had done nothing deserving death. And ^dqas he himself appealed to ^drthe emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”

Acts 26

Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa

1 So ^dsAgrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:

2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today ^dtagainst all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the ^ducustoms and ^dvcontroversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4 ^dw“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among ^dxmy own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that ^dyaccording to the strictest ^dzparty of our ^eareligion I have lived as ^eba Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in ^ecthe promise made by God to our fathers, 7 ^edto which ^eeour twelve tribes hope to ^efattain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope ^egI am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought ^ehincredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

9 ^ei“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of ^ejJesus of Nazareth. 10 ^ekAnd I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority ^elfrom the chief priests, but ^emwhen they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And ^enI punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them ^eoblaspheme, and ^epin raging fury against them I ^eqpersecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 “In this connection ^erI journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me ^esin the Hebrew language, ^{▼▼Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic)} ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and ^eustand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, ^evto appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 ^ewdelivering you from your people and from the Gentiles— ^exto whom I ^eyam sending you 18 ^ezto open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from ^fathe power of Satan to God, that they may receive ^fbforgiveness of sins and ^fca place among those who are sanctified ^fdby faith in me.’

19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to ^fethe heavenly vision, 20 but declared first ^ffto those in Damascus, ^fgthen in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also ^fhto the Gentiles, that they should ^firepent and ^fjturn to God, performing deeds ^fkin keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason ^flthe Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 ^fmTo this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so ^fnI stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what ^fothe prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 ^fpthat the Christ ^fqmust suffer and that, ^frby being the first ^fsto rise from the dead, ^fthe would proclaim ^fulight both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, ^fvyou are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, ^fwmost excellent Festus, but I am speaking ^fxtrue and ^fyrational words. 26 For ^fzthe king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be ^gaa Christian?” ^{▼▼Or In a short time you would persuade me to act like a Christian!} 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day ^gcmight become such as I am—except for ^gdthese chains.”

30 Then the king rose, and ^gethe governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, ^gf“This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, ^gg“This man could have been set ^ghfree if he had not appealed ^gito Caesar.”