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Acts 21:28

New Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Acts 21:28 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place.
Acts 21:28 — American Standard Version

Context — Acts 21

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
25But as touching the Gentiles that have believed, we wrote, giving judgment that they should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication.
26Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.
27And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,
28crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place.
29For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.
30And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they laid hold on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut.
31And as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
← Acts 21:27Acts 21:29 →
← Full Chapter 21 Acts Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Crying out, men of Israel, help, etc.] The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, “help us”; to hold Paul, on whom they had laid their hands, and to assist in beating him: but why such an outcry for help against a single man, and he but little of stature, and weak in body, and so easily held and overpowered? it may be they chose to engage others with them, to give the greater countenance to their actions, and for their own security and protection, should they be opposed or called to an account; this is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people; the people of the Jews, saying that they were not the only people of God; that God was the God of the Gentiles, as well as of the Jews;…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Men of Israel - Jews. All who are the friends of the Law of Moses. This is the man ... - This implies that they had before given information to the Jews at Jerusalem that there was such a man, and they now exulted in the fact that they had found him. They therefore called on all these to aid in securing and punishing him. That teacheth ... - See the notes on Acts 6:13-14. Against the people - The people of the Jews. That is, they pretended that he taught that the customs and laws of the Jewish nation were not binding, and endeavored to prejudice all people against them. And the law - The Law of Moses. And this place - The temple. Everything against the Law would be interpreted also as being…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Against the people - The Jewish nation; and the law - Of Moses; and this place - The temple. Yea, and hath even brought Greeks into the temple - They might come into the outer court. But they imagined Paul had brought then into the inner temple, and had thereby polluted it. Acts 21:30”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“21:28-29 Gentiles: It was a crime punishable by death to bring any non-Jew into the Temple precincts beyond the Court of the Gentiles (see also Josephus, War 5.5.2; 6.2.4). The Jews assumed that Paul had violated this sacred law by bringing Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus (see also Acts 20:4; 2 Tim 4:20), into the forbidden area.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Men: Act 19:26-28, Act 24:5, Act 24:6 This is: Act 21:21, Act 6:13, Act 6:14, Act 24:5, Act 24:6, Act 24:18, Act 26:20, Act 26:21 brought: Jer 7:4-15; Lam 1:10 Acts 21:29”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification