Acts 21:26

Paul listened to everything they said, and he agreed to do that ceremony with those 4 men. The next day, he got them together, and they started to do the ceremony to make themselves clean. After that, Paul went to God’s ceremony house, and he told the leader of the Jewish ceremonies the date they will finish that ceremony and give animals to God for each of them, the way they do in Jewish culture.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

25We leaders know that the Christians that are not Jews don’t have to do everything in our Jewish law, and we wrote them a letter about it. But we told them, – If somebody reckons that a statue is a god, and if they give food to that statue to show respect to it, don’t eat any of that food. – And don’t eat the blood of animals. – And if somebody holds an animal’s neck really tight to kill it, don’t eat meat from that animal. – And don’t sleep with somebody that you are not married to, as if they are your wife or husband. That’s what we wrote in our letter.”

27Paul and the other 4 men had to do that ceremony for 7 days to make themselves clean. Just before it finished, Paul walked along the road with a man that was not a Jew. His name was Trofimus. Some Jewish people from Asia country saw them together, and they thought that Paul took Trofimus into God’s ceremony house, and that was against their Jewish law. The next day, Paul went back to God’s ceremony house, and those Asia Jews saw him there. They called out to the other Jews there. They shouted, “You Jewish men, come and help us punish this man. This is the man that teaches people everywhere to rubbish us Jewish people, and our law, and he tells them not to respect this ceremony house. He even brought a man that is not a Jew into it, so now it is not clean any more.” Then all those Jewish people got angry with Paul, and they grabbed him.

Read all of Acts 21

Cross References

Acts 21:24So you join those men, and go with them to God’s ceremony house, and do that ceremony with them, and pay for the things they buy. Then they can shave their heads. That’s our culture, to show that they have done everything they promised to do. And the people will see you do all that with those men at God’s ceremony house, and they will know that the things people told them about you are not true, and they will know that you do everything in our Jewish law and culture.

1 Corinthians 9:20I do it like this. If I’m with my own people, the Jews, I live like a Jew, so the Jews will listen to me and believe in Jesus. I follow the Jewish law like they do. I know that the Jewish law is not really for me any more, but I want the Jewish people to believe in Jesus. (I don’t forget God’s law. I always follow the law that Jesus Christ gave us.) Or if I’m with people that don’t know the Jewish law, so they never worry about it, I live like they do. I don’t worry about that law either. I live like they do, so they will listen to me and believe in Jesus.

Matthew Henry on Acts 21:16-27

Paul's Visit to Jerusalem; Paul's Conformity to the Jewish Law. 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 Cæsarea, 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… Read the whole commentary →

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Study Acts 21:26