When we located the disciples [there] we stayed [with them] for seven days. They advised Paul, through [inspired revelations from] the Holy Spirit, not [even] to set foot in Jerusalem.

When he met with us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet [with it], and said, "The Holy Spirit has revealed [to me] that the man who owns this belt will be tied up like this by the Jews in Jerusalem and will be turned over to the Gentiles."

When we heard these things, both we and those who lived there [i.e., Philip, his daughters and local disciples] urged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

[But] Paul answered, "What are you trying to do [by your] crying and breaking my heart [like this]? [Do you not know that] I am ready, not only to be chained up, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus?"

The next day Paul went with us to visit James [the Lord's half-brother and a leader in the Jerusalem church], with all of the elders [of the Jerusalem church] being present.

And after greeting them Paul reported one by one the things that God had brought about among the Gentiles through his ministry.

And when they heard [all] this, they gave honor to God, then said to Paul, "Brother, you can see how many thousands of Jewish believers [in Christ] there are [everywhere] and all of them are eager to observe the [requirements of the] law of Moses.

Then Paul took the men and the next day he observed the ceremony of purification with them. Then he went into the Temple, declaring [to the priest] when he would fulfill the [required] days of the purification [ceremony] and [be ready] for the sacrifices to be offered for each of them.

When the seven days [required by the vow] were almost completed, the Jews from Asia saw Paul in the Temple. They incited the whole crowd and took hold of him,

(For the Jews had previously seen him on a city street with Trophimus, the Ephesian, whom they assumed Paul had taken into the Temple [with him]).

[So], the entire city was stirred up, and the mob rushed together and attacked Paul, dragging him out of the Temple. Immediately the [Temple] doors were closed [i.e., to secure it from further intrusion].

And as they were attempting to kill Paul, the commander of the military unit was informed that the entire city of Jerusalem was rioting.

So, immediately he rushed down on the people with his soldiers and officers, and when the mob saw the commander and his soldiers [coming], they stopped beating Paul.

Then the commanding officer approached Paul, took hold of him and ordered him to be secured with two chains. He then questioned him as to who he was and what he had done.

From the crowd, some shouted one thing and some another. When the commander could not hear what was being said because of the noise, he ordered Paul to be taken into the battalion headquarters.

When they got to the stairway [of the headquarters building] the soldiers had to carry Paul because of the [unrestrained] violence of the mob,

As Paul was being brought into the headquarters building, he said to the commander, "Can I speak with you?" The commander replied [with surprise], "You know the Greek language?

Paul answered, "[No], I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city, and I beg you to allow me to speak to these people."

And when the commander gave him permission, Paul stood on the stairway and motioned to the people with his hand [for attention]. When they completely quieted down, he spoke to them in the Hebrew [i.e., Aramaic] language, saying,

The people had listened to Paul speaking up to this point [i.e., until he said the word "Gentiles"], then they raised their voices and shouted, "Do away with such a person from the earth; it is not right for him to live."

the commander ordered Paul to be brought to headquarters and requested that he be interrogated by means of a flogging, in order to learn the reason why people were shouting against him.

Just as they were tying him up [in preparation] for the flogging, Paul said to the officer nearby, "Is it lawful for you to whip a Roman [citizen] before he has been [legally] condemned?"

Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you [really] a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "Yes."

The commander answered, "It cost me a large sum of money to obtain this [right of] citizenship." Paul replied, "But I am a Roman citizen by birth."

Then those who were about to interrogate Paul [with whips] immediately left him, and the commander also became fearful when he realized that he had chained a Roman citizen [illegally].

But the next day the commander released Paul [from the chains] because he wanted to know what specific charges the Jews has against him. So, he ordered the leading priests and the entire [Jewish] Council to assemble, then brought Paul down and placed him in front of them.

Paul [then] looked intently at the Council [i.e., the Jewish supreme court called the "Sanhedrin"] and spoke [in his defense]: "Brothers, I have lived before God with a good conscience all my life."

[Upon hearing this], the head priest Ananias ordered that those standing closest to Paul hit him on the mouth.

Then Paul said to the head priest, "God will hit you, you white-washed wall [i.e., you hypocrite]. Are you sitting in judgment over me according to the law of Moses and [yet] do you order me to be hit contrary to that law?"

Paul said, "Brothers, I did not know that he was the head priest, for it is written [Ex. 22:28], 'You shall not speak evil about a leader of your people.' "

When Paul realized that part [of the Sanhedrin] were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he lifted up his voice before the Council and said, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. And it is concerning our hope that the dead will be raised that I have been brought to trial."

And when a serious debate broke out, the commander was afraid that Paul might [virtually] be torn apart by the mob, so he ordered his soldiers to go down [to the Council meeting] and forcibly remove Paul and take him to the battalion headquarters.

The next night the Lord stood beside Paul [in a supernatural dream] and said, "Take courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also be my witness in Rome."

When daylight came, [a group of] Jews conspired together, agreeing under oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

They went to the leading priests and [Jewish] elders and told them, "We have bound ourselves under an oath [with serious consequences] to eat nothing until we have killed Paul.

Therefore, [all of] you, together with the Jewish Council, should notify the commander so that he will bring Paul [back] down to you, as though you wanted to consider his case further. Then we will be ready to kill him, [even] before he comes near [you]."

But Paul's nephew learned of their plot and went to the headquarters and told Paul [all about it].

So, Paul called for one of the officers and said [to him], "Take this young man to the commander; he has something [important] to tell him."

So, the officer took Paul's nephew to the commander and said, "Paul, the prisoner, called for me and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you."

And the lad said, "The Jews have plotted to ask you to take Paul down to the Council [meeting] tomorrow, as though you were going to question him further.

And he [also] requested that they furnish animals for Paul to ride so he could be brought safely to Felix, the governor.

This man [i.e., Paul] was grabbed by the Jews and almost killed by them when I discovered what they were doing and rescued him, after learning that he was a Roman citizen.

So, the soldiers took charge of Paul and took him at night to Antipatris [Note: This was a town on the road between Jerusalem and Caesarea] as they were ordered.

The next day the soldiers allowed the horsemen to go on with Paul, while they [themselves] returned to headquarters.

When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul before him.

And when the governor read the letter, he asked what province Paul was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia,

he said, "I will hear your case fully when your accusers also get here." Then he ordered that Paul be kept [under guard] in Herod's palace.

Five days later the head priest, Ananias, came down [to Caesarea] with certain [Jewish] elders and an attorney [named] Tertullus, who brought their case against Paul before the governor.

When Paul was called [to appear before the court] Tertullus began the prosecution by saying, "Your Excellency Felix: Since through you we are able to enjoy peace [in this province] and under your jurisdiction the problems in our society are being [properly] dealt with,

We have found this man [i.e., Paul] to be extremely bothersome, and an instigator of strife among the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

And when the governor had motioned for him to speak, Paul answered [the charges, by saying], "I know [Your Excellency] that you have administered justice for this nation for many years, so I am glad to make my defense [before you].

But because Felix [felt he] had more accurate knowledge of the "Way" [than was being presented by Paul's accusers], he dismissed them, saying, "When commander Lysias comes down [to Caesarea] I will make a decision on your case."

So, he ordered his officer to keep Paul in custody, yet with some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from ministering to his needs.

After a number of days, Felix and Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, came [back to the palace] and sent for Paul to [come and] tell them about [the] faith in Christ Jesus.

He had hoped, along with everything else, that he would receive money from Paul, so he sent for him more frequently and had discussions with him.

So, Felix allowed Paul to remain in chains, because he wanted to gain favor with the Jews [during that period of time]. Two years passed and Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus.

The leading priests and the leading Jewish men [there] informed Festus of the charges against Paul. Then they begged him

to do them a favor by having Paul brought [from Caesarea] to Jerusalem, for they were plotting to kill him on the way.

Festus answered that [since] Paul was being held in custody in Caesarea, and [since] he himself was soon going there [i.e., he could see Paul at Caesarea at that time].

After staying not more than eight or ten [more] days [there in Jerusalem], Festus went down to Caesarea and the following day he ordered Paul to appear before him as he sat in his court of justice.

When Paul appeared, the [Jewish] leaders who had accompanied Festus down from Jerusalem gathered around him and brought many serious charges against him, which they were not able to prove.

Paul replied in his defense, "I have not committed any sin against the law of the Jews, nor against the Temple, nor against Caesar."

But Festus, wanting to gain favor with the Jews [See 24:27], answered Paul, "Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there?"

Paul replied, "I am [already] standing before a court of Caesar's authority, where I deserve to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you very well know.

After conferring with his advisors, Festus answered Paul, "[Since] you have appealed to Caesar, then you will go to Caesar."

While they stayed there [with him] for many days, Festus discussed Paul's case with the king, saying, "There is this man [named Paul] who was left in custody by Felix.

All they had was a controversy with him over their own religion and about someone named Jesus, who had died [but] whom Paul alleges is [now] alive.

But when Paul requested that his case be reviewed for a decision by Caesar, I ordered him to remain in custody until I could send him to Caesar."

Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So, Paul motioned [to the assembly] with his hand [for attention] and began speaking in his defense:

As Paul made his defense in this way, Festus said to him loudly, "Paul, you are crazy. All your education is driving you insane."

But Paul replied, "I am not crazy, Your Excellency Festus; I am [just] speaking a message of truth and sound reason.

Agrippa said to Paul, "You expect to persuade me to be a Christian with such little effort [or, in such a short time]?"

Paul replied, "I wish to God that, whether it would take a little or a lot, not only you, but all those who hear me today, might become [Christians] like me, except [not] with these chains."

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and certain other prisoners to the custody of a military officer named Julius, of the Augustan battalion.

The next day we stopped at Sidon [i.e., a seaport on the northwest coast of Palestine]. Julius treated Paul with kindness, [even] giving him the opportunity to meet his friends [there] and receive help [from them].

After much time had passed, the voyage became more dangerous because it was [now] past the Day of Atonement [Note: This would have been around September or October, when a sea voyage involved rough sailing]. So, Paul began warning the people [aboard ship],

But the military officer paid more attention to the captain and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul was saying.

When they had gone without food for a long time, Paul stood in the middle of the crew and spoke, "Men, you should have listened to me and not sailed for Crete and thereby have to experience such suffering and loss.

saying, 'Do not be afraid Paul, for you must appear before Caesar, and look, God will grant you [the safety of] all these men aboard ship [along] with yourself.'

Paul said to the military officer [Julius] and to his soldiers, "Unless these men stay aboard the ship, none of you will be saved."

As it was dawning, Paul urged the crew to eat something, saying, "You have been waiting for fourteen days [for the weather to break] and you have continued to fast [all that time], eating nothing [at all].

But the military officer, wanting to save Paul [from being killed], prevented them from doing this. [Instead] he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and be the first to reach land.

But as Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and was placing them on the fire, a snake crawled out because of the heat and clung to his hand.

However, Paul shook off the creature into the fire without suffering any harm.

And it happened that Publius' father lay sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul went [to his house] and, after praying and placing hands on him, healed him.

[So], hearing that we were coming, the brothers [from Rome] traveled from there as far [south] as "The Market of Appius" and "The Three Inns" to meet us. When Paul saw them he thanked God and was [very] encouraged.

When we entered Rome [itself] Paul was permitted to live alone except for a soldier who guarded him.

And it happened after three days that Paul called together those who were the leading Jews, and when they assembled he said to them, "Brothers, although I had done nothing against the [Jewish] people or the customs of our forefathers, yet I was made a prisoner at Jerusalem, being placed in the custody of the Romans [while there].

And when they had arranged a day, large numbers of people came to Paul's house. He explained [everything to them], testifying from morning until evening concerning the kingdom of God and concerning [the Messiahship of] Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from [the writings of] the prophets.

And some people believed what Paul said and some refused to believe.

And when they could not agree among themselves they left, after hearing Paul make this one [important] statement: "The Holy Spirit has spoken truthfully to your forefathers through Isaiah the prophet,

Then Paul lived for two whole years in his own rented house and welcomed everyone who visited him.

[This letter is from] Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, [who was] called to be an apostle, [and] set apart for [preaching] the Gospel of God.

So, whoever you are, you people do not have any excuse for judging people [Note: At this point Paul begins addressing the Jews. See verse 17]. For in a matter where you judge someone else [to be wrong] you [actually] condemn yourselves, because you are practicing the same things [you condemn them for doing].

Now we [Jews] know that God's judgment against people who practice such things [i.e., the Gentiles] is according to truth. [Note: Some use "You say," at the beginning of the sentence, making it an assertion of the Jews which Paul sets about to answer].

For I do not [really] understand what I am doing; I practice what I do not want to and I hate what I do. [Note: This highly controversial section (verses 14b-25) is here viewed as the struggles of the apostle Paul after his conversion, and by extension, of all Christians. See Bruce, pages 150ff; Murray, pages 255ff; Lard, pages 236ff].

and so that the Gentiles [also] may honor God for His mercy, as it is written [Psa. 18:49], "Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name." [Note: Paul here accommodates the words of King David by applying them to Jews participating with Gentiles in praising God as part of the one body].

But, as it is written [Isa. 52:15], "Those people who had not been told about Him will see [the truth], and those who have not heard [the message] will understand [it]." [Note: Paul here applies a Messianic prediction to his ambition of doing pioneer evangelism].

Greet one another with a holy kiss [i.e., to signify affection, yet without sensuality]. All of the churches of Christ [i.e., which Paul established or preached in] send you their greetings.

I am Tertius, who is writing this letter [for Paul], and I send you my greetings in [the fellowship of] the Lord.