Passage

Acts 21.25

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

23. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men that have a vow on them; 24. these take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges for them, that they may shave their heads: and all shall know that there is no truth in the things whereof they have been informed concerning thee; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law.

25. But as touching the Gentiles that have believed, we wrote, giving judgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication.

Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them. 27. And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, (Acts 21:23-27, ASV)

WEB

23. Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. 24. Take them, and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the law.

25. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality.”

Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purified himself and went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them. 27. When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, (Acts 21:23-27, WEB)

KJV

23. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; 24. Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

25. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. 27. And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, (Acts 21:23-27, KJV)

YLT

23. 'This, therefore, do that we say to thee: We have four men having a vow on themselves, 24. these having taken, be purified with them, and be at expence with them, that they may shave the head, and all may know that the things of which they have been instructed concerning thee are nothing, but thou dost walk, thyself also, the law keeping.

25. 'And concerning those of the nations who have believed, we have written, having given judgment, that they observe no such thing, except to keep themselves both from idol-sacrifices, and blood, and a strangled thing, and whoredom.'

Then Paul, having taken the men, on the following day, with them having purified himself, was entering into the temple, announcing the fulfilment of the days of the purification, till the offering was offered for each one of them. 27. And, as the seven days were about to be fully ended, the Jews from Asia having beheld him in the temple, were stirring up all the multitude, and they laid hands upon him, (Acts 21:23-27, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: James and the elders of the Jerusalem church, in conversation with Paul
Audience: Paul and his companions
Location: Jerusalem
Time period: c. AD 57

Theological reading

James restates the Jerusalem decree to Paul, roughly eight years after the council issued it, and the restatement is the point.

The context is delicate. Thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem have been told that Paul teaches Jews of the diaspora to forsake Moses (v. 21), a charge James and the elders treat as a misrepresentation. Their proposal is that Paul demonstrate his own observance by joining four men under a vow and paying their expenses. Then comes verse 25: as touching the Gentiles that have believed, we wrote the four abstentions.

The verse does two jobs. It confirms that the Acts 15 ruling was still in force and had not quietly lapsed, and it draws the distinction the whole passage depends on: Jewish believers may continue in ancestral practice, and Gentile believers are under no obligation to adopt it. Neither group is required to become the other.

That is the settled apostolic position and it resolves a great deal of confusion. Paul's opposition to circumcision for Gentiles, argued fiercely in Galatians, was never an instruction to Jewish believers to abandon Torah observance, and his own conduct here shows it. The freedom runs both ways.

The episode ends badly, with Paul seized in the temple, which begins the custody that carries him to Rome. Luke does not present the elders' strategy as having worked. See Mosaic Law.

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.

G4100 - pisteuo, pisteuo, Strong's G4100

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Mosaic Law

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.