Ma'ashym (Acts) — 21
Shaul’s Journey to Yahushalam
1 After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara.
2 There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia.
3 We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyra in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
4 We went ashore and found the local believers of Truth, and we stayed with them for seven days. These believers of Truth prophesied through the RUACH Ha'Qadash that Shaul the Shaliach should not go on to Yahushalam.
5 When we returned to the ship at the end of our stay, the entire congregation of the Qadash ones, including women and children, left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt down on the shore and prayed.
6 And said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.
7 The next stop after leaving Tyra was Ptolemais, where we greeted the Qadash Ones and stayed for one day.
8 The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the basar, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food.
9 He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.
10 Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Yahudah.
11 He came over, took Shaul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The RUACH Ha'Qadash declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Yahudym leaders in Yahushalam and turned over to the other nations (non Yahudym).’”
12 When we heard this, we and the local believers of Truth all begged Shaul not to go on to Yahushalam.
13 But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Yahushalam but even to die for the sake of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤏_YAHUSHA my Mashyach.”
14 When it was clear that we could not persuade Shaul, we gave up and said, “𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s WILL be done.”
Shaul Arrives at Yahushalam
15 After this we packed our things and left for Yahushalam.
16 Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason, a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early believers of Truth.
17 When we arrived, the Qadash assembly in Yahushalam welcomed us warmly.
18 The next day Shaul went with us to meet with Ya'aqub, and all the elders of the Yahushalam Qadash assembly were present.
19 After greeting them, Shaul gave a detailed account of the things 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH had accomplished among the other nations through his service.
20 After hearing this, they Yadah 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH. And then they said, “You know, dear Achk (brother) Shaul, how many thousands of Yahudym have also believed the Truth, and they all still follow the law of Musha very seriously.
21 But the Yahudym believers here in Yahushalam have been told that you are teaching all the Yahudym who live among the other nations to turn their backs on the laws of Musha. They have heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Yahudym customs.
22 What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
23 “Here is what we want you to do. We have four men here who have completed their vow.
24 Go with them to the Haykal (Temple) and join them in the purification ceremony and pay for them to have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Yahudym laws.
25 “As for the other nations believers of Truth, they should do what we already told them in a letter: They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”
Shaul Is Arrested
26 So Shaul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them.
27 The seven days were almost ended when some Yahudym from the province of Asia saw Shaul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed Shaul,
28 Yelling, “Men of Yashar'AL, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Yahudym laws. He speaks against the Temple and even defiles this qadash place by bringing in the people of other nations.”
29 (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a foreigner from Ephesus, and they assumed Shaul had taken him into the Temple)
30 The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed. Shaul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him.
31 As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Yahushalam was in an uproar.
32 He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Shaul.
33 Then the commander arrested Shaul and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.
34 Some shouted one thing and some another. Since he could not find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Shaul be taken to the fortress.
35 As Shaul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him.
36 And the crowd followed behind, shouting, “Kill him, kill him!”
Shaul Speaks to the Crowd
37 As Shaul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you? “the Commander was surprised and he replied, can you speak Greek?”.
38 “Are you not the Mitzraym who led a rebellion some time ago and took four thousand members of the Assassins out into the desert?”
39 “No,” Shaul replied, “I am a Yahudym and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.”
40 The commander agreed, so Shaul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, And when there was a great silence, Shaul spoke to them in the Abarym (Hebrew) language, saying,