Passage

Acts 21.1-18

Book: Acts · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. And when it came to pass that we were parted from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2. and having found a ship crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail. 3. And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4. And having found the disciples, we tarried there seven days: and these said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not set foot in Jerusalem. 5. And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey; and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell; 6. and we went on board the ship, but they returned home again. 7. And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 8. And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him. 9. Now this man had four virgin daughters, who prophesied. 10. And as we tarried there some days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11. And coming to us, and taking Paul's girdle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. 12. And when we heard these things, both we and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13. Then Paul answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 14. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. 15. And after these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. 16. And there went with us also certain of the disciples from Caesarea, bringing with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge. 17. And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present."

"19. And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20. And they, when they heard it, glorified God; and they said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of them that have believed; and they are all zealous for the law:" (Acts 21:1-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. When we had departed from them and had set sail, we came with a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 2. Having found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set sail. 3. When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo. 4. Having found disciples, we stayed there seven days. These said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. 5. When those days were over, we departed and went on our journey. They all, with wives and children, brought us on our way until we were out of the city. Kneeling down on the beach, we prayed. 6. After saying goodbye to each other, we went on board the ship, and they returned home again. 7. When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais. We greeted the brothers, and stayed with them one day. 8. On the next day, we, who were Paul’s companions, departed, and came to Caesarea. We entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9. Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 10. As we stayed there some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11. Coming to us, and taking Paul’s belt, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit: ‘So will the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12. When we heard these things, both we and they of that place begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13. Then 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.” 14. When he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The Lord’s will be done.” 15. After these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. 16. Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we would stay. 17. When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18. The day following, Paul went in with us to James; and all the elders were present."

"19. When he had greeted them, he reported one by one the things which God had worked among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20. They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law." (Acts 21:1-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2. And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we went aboard, and set forth. 3. Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden. 4. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. 5. And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed. 6. And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again. 7. And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. 8. And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 9. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. 10. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. 12. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 14. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. 15. And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem. 16. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge. 17. And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present."

"19. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. 20. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:" (Acts 21:1-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And it came to pass, at our sailing, having been parted from them, having run direct, we came to Coos, and the succeeding [day] to Rhodes, and thence to Patara, 2. and having found a ship passing over to Phenicia, having gone on board, we sailed, 3. and having discovered Cyprus, and having left it on the left, we were sailing to Syria, and did land at Tyre, for there was the ship discharging the lading. 4. And having found out the disciples, we tarried there seven days, and they said to Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up to Jerusalem; 5. but when it came that we completed the days, having gone forth, we went on, all bringing us on the way, with women and children, unto the outside of the city, and having bowed the knees upon the shore, we prayed, 6. and having embraced one another, we embarked in the ship, and they returned to their own friends. 7. And we, having finished the course, from Tyre came down to Ptolemais, and having saluted the brethren, we remained one day with them; 8. and on the morrow Paul and his company having gone forth, we came to Caesarea, and having entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who is of the seven, we remained with him, 9. and this one had four daughters, virgins, prophesying. 10. And we remaining many more days, there came down a certain one from Judea, a prophet, by name Agabus, 11. and he having come unto us, and having taken up the girdle of Paul, having bound also his own hands and feet, said, 'Thus saith the Holy Spirit, The man whose is this girdle, so shall the Jews in Jerusalem bind, and they shall deliver [him] up to the hands of nations.' 12. And when we heard these things, we called upon [him], both we, and those of that place, not to go up to Jerusalem, 13. and Paul answered, 'What do ye, weeping, and crushing mine heart? for I, not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem, am ready, for the name of the Lord Jesus;' 14. and he not being persuaded, we were silent, saying, 'The will of the Lord be done.' 15. And after these days, having taken [our] vessels, we were going up to Jerusalem, 16. and there went also of the disciples from Caesarea with us, bringing with them him with whom we may lodge, a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an aged disciple. 17. And we having come to Jerusalem, the brethren did gladly receive us, 18. and on the morrow Paul was going in with us unto James, all the elders also came,"

"19. and having saluted them, he was declaring, one by one, each of the things God did among the nations through his ministration, 20. and they having heard, were glorifying the Lord. They said also to him, 'Thou seest, brother, how many myriads there are of Jews who have believed, and all are zealous of the law," (Acts 21:1-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Anonymous Gospels Objection Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.