Acts 21:27–21:36, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Acts 21:27–21:36
A false temple accusation sparks mob violence and Roman custody
A false temple inference turns a city into a beating, then a chain
Near the end of the seven days, Jews from Asia see Paul in the temple, stir the crowd, and seize him. They cry that this is the man who teaches everyone against the people, the law, and this place, and that he has further brought Greeks into the temple and defiled it. They had seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city and supposed Paul had brought him inside. The city is moved. They drag Paul out; the gates are shut. As they seek to kill him, the tribune hears of the uproar, runs down with soldiers, and the beating stops. He arrests Paul, binds him with two chains, and cannot learn the facts because the crowd shouts contradictory things. Paul is carried up the stairs while people cry, "Away with him."
The accusers are particular diaspora opponents, and the Trophimus charge is a mistaken inference. Roman intervention interrupts a killing and also chains Paul before investigation. Empire is not an uncomplicated rescuer. A whole people is not guilty of a mob.
How this should shape us
Verify an accusation before a crowd acts. Reject mob violence and ethnic rumor, and keep imperial force visible as both interruption and custody, not as proof that Rome is the hero of the temple.
Teach it back
Explain Acts 21:27–21:36 in your own words, naming its movement, speaker or narrator role, one source-controlled detail, one uncertainty, one affected person, and one conclusion the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Acts 21:27–21:36, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text, Acts 21:27-21:36
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 21:27-21:36
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 21:27–21:36
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'The Defense of the Gospel,' Acts 21-23 study guide
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 21:27–21:36
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 21:27–21:36, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Supports: Roman law-enforcement comparison with explicit local variation and limits on reconstructing procedure.
Brelaz, JSNT 43.4 (2021), complete open HTML, section 1 and the named provincial, custody, citizenship, hearing, or conclusion paragraphs bearing on Acts 21:27–21:36
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 21:27–21:36, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 21:27-21:36
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 21:27-21:36
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Acts
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 21:27–21:36
Open source ↗open university bible study course
Acts of the Apostles Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2019
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'The Defense of the Gospel,' Acts 21-23 study guide
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
The Acts of the Apostles
Alan J. Thompson
The Gospel Coalition, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Exact location: Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 21:27–21:36
Open source ↗peer reviewed article abstract and metadata
The Jewishness of Luke-Acts: How Recent Scholarship Has Challenged the View that Luke-Acts Is Pro-Gentile and Anti-Jewish
Joshua Paul Smith
The Journal of Theological Studies 72.2, 2021
Supports: Abstract-supported control for Jewish continuity and Gentile inclusion in Acts 21:27–21:36, not a settlement of every conflict scene.
Exact location: Smith, JTS 72.2 (2021), pp. 738-765, official abstract and bibliographic record
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
The Provincial Contexts of Paul's Imprisonments: Law Enforcement and Criminal Procedure in the Roman East
Cedric Brelaz
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 43.4, 2021
Supports: Roman law-enforcement comparison with explicit local variation and limits on reconstructing procedure.
Exact location: Brelaz, JSNT 43.4 (2021), complete open HTML, section 1 and the named provincial, custody, citizenship, hearing, or conclusion paragraphs bearing on Acts 21:27–21:36
Open source ↗