Acts 21:33

THE MESSAGE

The captain came up and put Paul under arrest. He first ordered him handcuffed, and then asked who he was and what he had done. All he got from the crowd were shouts, one yelling this, another that. It was impossible to tell one word from another in the mob hysteria, so the captain ordered Paul taken to the military barracks. But when they got to the Temple steps, the mob became so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul. As they carried him away, the crowd followed, shouting, "Kill him! Kill him!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.

King James Version (1611)
Then the chiefe captain came neere, and tooke him, & commanded him to be bound with two chains, and demanded who he was, and what hee had done.

King James Version
Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.

English Standard Version
Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.

New American Standard Bible
Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered that he be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

New Century Version
The commander went to Paul and arrested him. He told his soldiers to tie Paul with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done wrong.

Amplified Bible
Then the commander came up and arrested Paul, and ordered that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done.

Berean Standard Bible
The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

Contemporary English Version
The army commander went over and arrested him and had him bound with two chains. Then he tried to find out who Paul was and what he had done.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then the commander came up, arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done.

Darby Translation
Then the chiliarch came up and laid hold upon him, and commanded [him] to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he might be, and what he had done.

Easy-to-Read Version
The commander went over to Paul and arrested him. He told his soldiers to tie him up with two chains. Then he asked, "Who is this man? What has he done wrong?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the chiefe Captaine came neere and tooke him, and commaunded him to be bound with two chaines, and demaunded who he was, and what he had done.

George Lamsa Translation
Then the chief captain came near him and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains. Then he inquired, Who is he and what has he done?

Good News Translation
The commander went over to Paul, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked, "Who is this man, and what has he done?"

Lexham English Bible
Then the military tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what it was that he had done.

Literal Translation
Then going near, the chiliarch laid hold of him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains. And he asked who he might be, and what he is doing.

American Standard Version
Then the chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done.

Bible in Basic English
Then the chief captain came near and took him, and gave orders for him to be put in chains, questioning them as to who he was and what he had done.

Hebrew Names Version
Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done.

International Standard Version
Then the tribune came up, grabbed Paul,him">[fn] and ordered him to be tied up with two chains. He then asked who Paulhe">[fn] was and what he had done.Acts 20:23; 21:11;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And the tribune drew near and took him, and commanded them to bind him with two chains. And he asked concerning him who (he was), and what he had done ?

Murdock Translation
And the Chiliarch came up to him, and seized him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains: and he inquired respecting him, who he was, and what he had done.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then the chiefe captaine came neare, & toke hym, and comaunded hym to be bounde with two chaynes, & demaunded who he was, & what he had done.

English Revised Version
Then the chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done.

World English Bible
Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Then the tribune came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired, Who he was, and what he had done?

Weymouth's New Testament
Then the Tribune, making his way to him, arrested him, and, having ordered him to be secured with two chains, proceeded to ask who he was and what he had been doing.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thanne the tribune cam, and cauyte hym, and comaundide, that he were boundun with twei cheynes; and axide, who he was, and what he hadde don.

Update Bible Version
Then the colonel came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the chief captain came near and took him, and commanded [him] to be bound with two chains: and inquired who he was, and what he had done.

New English Translation
Then the commanding officer came up and arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; he then asked who he was and what he had done.

New King James Version
Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

New Living Translation
Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done.

New Life Bible
The captain came and took hold of Paul. He told his soldiers to tie Paul with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

New Revised Standard
Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then, the captain, drawing near, laid hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains, - and began to enquire, who he might be, and what he had done;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then the tribune, coming near, took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains: and demanded who he was and what he had done.

Revised Standard Version
Then the tribune came up and arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Then the captayne came neare and toke him and comaunded him to be bounde with two chaynes and demaunded what he was and what he had done.

Young's Literal Translation
Then the chief captain, having come nigh, took him, and commanded [him] to be bound with two chains, and was inquiring who he may be, and what it is he hath been doing,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whan the captayne came nye, he toke him, and commaunded him to be bounde with two cheynes, and axed what he was, and what he had done.

Mace New Testament (1729)
the commander advanc'd, seiz'd him, and order'd to load him with two chains: then demanded who he was, and what he had done.

Simplified Cowboy Version
The commander then arrested Paul and had him double chained. The commander asked the crowd who Paul was and why they were beating him.

Contextual Overview

²⁷When the seven days of their purification were nearly up, some Jews from around Ephesus spotted him in the Temple. At once they turned the place upside-down. They grabbed Paul and started yelling at the top of their lungs, "Help! You Israelites, help! This is the man who is going all over the world telling lies against us and our religion and this place. He's even brought Greeks in here and defiled this holy place." (What had happened was that they had seen Paul and Trophimus, the Ephesian Greek, walking together in the city and had just assumed that he had also taken him to the Temple and shown him around.) ³⁰ Soon the whole city was in an uproar, people running from everywhere to the Temple to get in on the action. They grabbed Paul, dragged him outside, and locked the Temple gates so he couldn't get back in and gain sanctuary. ³¹As they were trying to kill him, word came to the captain of the guard, "A riot! The whole city's boiling over!" He acted swiftly. His soldiers and centurions ran to the scene at once. As soon as the mob saw the captain and his soldiers, they quit beating Paul. ³³The captain came up and put Paul under arrest. He first ordered him handcuffed, and then asked who he was and what he had done. All he got from the crowd were shouts, one yelling this, another that. It was impossible to tell one word from another in the mob hysteria, so the captain ordered Paul taken to the military barracks. But when they got to the Temple steps, the mob became so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul. As they carried him away, the crowd followed, shouting, "Kill him! Kill him!" ³⁷When they got to the barracks and were about to go in, Paul said to the captain, "Can I say something to you?" He answered, "Oh, I didn't know you spoke Greek. I thought you were the Egyptian who not long ago started a riot here, and then hid out in the desert with his four thousand thugs." ³⁹ Paul said, "No, I'm a Jew, born in Tarsus. And I'm a citizen still of that influential city. I have a simple request: Let me speak to the crowd." ⁴⁰ Standing on the barracks steps, Paul turned and held his arms up. A hush fell over the crowd as Paul began to speak. He spoke in Hebrew.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

be: Acts 21:11, Acts 12:6, Acts 20:23, Acts 22:25, Acts 22:29, Acts 28:20, Judges 15:13, Judges 16:8, Judges 16:12, Judges 16:21, Ephesians 6:20

and demanded: Acts 22:24, Acts 25:16, John 18:29, John 18:30

Reciprocal: Matthew 27:2 - bound Acts 22:30 - because Acts 28:17 - was Ephesians 3:1 - the 2 Timothy 3:11 - but Hebrews 10:34 - in my Hebrews 11:36 - bonds

Cross-References

Genesis 12:8
He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there and prayed to God .

Genesis 26:25
Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.

Deuteronomy 16:21
Don't plant fertility Asherah trees alongside the Altar of God , your God, that you build. Don't set up phallic sex pillars— God , your God, hates them.

Judges 3:7
The People of Israel did evil in God 's sight. They forgot their God and worshiped the Baal gods and Asherah goddesses. God 's hot anger blazed against Israel. He sold them off to Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. The People of Israel were in servitude to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.

Isaiah 57:15
A Message from the high and towering God, who lives in Eternity, whose name is Holy: "I live in the high and holy places, but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed, And what I do is put new spirit in them, get them up and on their feet again. For I'm not going to haul people into court endlessly, I'm not going to be angry forever. Otherwise, people would lose heart. These souls I created would tire out and give up. I was angry, good and angry, because of Israel's sins. I struck him hard and turned away in anger, while he kept at his stubborn, willful ways. When I looked again and saw what he was doing, I decided to heal him, lead him, and comfort him, creating a new language of praise for the mourners. Peace to the far-off, peace to the near-at-hand," says God — "and yes, I will heal them. But the wicked are storm-battered seas that can't quiet down. The waves stir up garbage and mud. There's no peace," God says, "for the wicked."

Jeremiah 10:10
But God is the real thing— the living God, the eternal King. When he's angry, Earth shakes. Yes, and the godless nations quake.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the chief captain came near,.... To the place where the Jews were beating Paul:

and took him the Arabic version adds, "from them"; he rescued him out of their hands, as he himself says, Acts 23:27.

And commanded him to be bound with two chains: partly to appease the people, and partly to secure Paul; who, he supposed, had been guilty of some misdemeanour, which had occasioned this tumult; these two chains were put, one on one arm, and the other on the other arm; and were fastened to two soldiers, who walked by him, having hold on those chains, the one on his right hand, and the other on his left; and thus Agabus's prophecy in Acts 21:11 was fulfilled:

and demanded who he was; or asked and inquired about him, who he was, of what nation he was, what was his character, business, and employment: this inquiry was made, either of the apostle himself, or of the people; and so the Arabic version renders it, "he inquired of them who he was"; also

and what he had done; what crime he had been guilty of, that they used him in such a manner.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To be bound with two chains - To show to the enraged multitude that he did not intend to rescue anyone from justice, but to keep the peace. Paul’s Being thus bound would convince them of his determination that justice should be done in the case. Probably he was bound between two soldiers, his right arm to the left arm of the one, and his left arm to the right arm of the other. See the notes on Acts 12:6. Or, if his hands and feet were bound, it is evident that it was so done that he was able still to walk, Acts 21:37-38. This was in accordance with the prediction of Agabus, Acts 21:11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 33. And took him — With great violence, according to Acts 24:7, probably meaning an armed force.

To be bound with two chains — To be bound between two soldiers; his right hand chained to the left hand of the one, and his left hand to the right of the other. Acts 12:6; Acts 12:6.