We sought out the disciples in Tyre and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they kept telling Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- WEB Having found disciples, we stayed there seven days. These said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
- KJV And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.
- NKJV And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.
- NASB After looking up the disciples, we stayed there for seven days; and they kept telling Paul, through the Spirit, not to set foot in Jerusalem.
- NLT We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Finding disciples at Tyre, Paul stays seven days, and through the Spirit they urge him not to go up to Jerusalem. Believers warn him of the danger ahead.
Overview
The Tyrian disciples, prompted by the Spirit's revelation of coming suffering, plead with Paul to avoid Jerusalem. The Spirit reveals the danger, yet Paul understands his own calling to continue, much as he was "bound by the Spirit" to go. Faithful Christians may rightly grieve over a brother's coming trials while he, in obedience, still presses on; the tension reflects both their love and Paul's resolve to obey God's call.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Acts 21:10–12After we had been there several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
- Acts 20:22–23And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
- Acts 20:6–7And after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi, and five days later we rejoined them in Troas, where we stayed seven days.
- Matt 10:11Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on.
- Acts 19:1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
- Acts 11:26and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
- Acts 28:14There we found some brothers who invited us to spend the week with them. And so we came to Rome.
- Rev 1:10On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
- 2 Tim 1:17Indeed, when he arrived in Rome, he searched diligently until he found me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 21:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.