Acts 21:23

Acts 21:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
• New International Version (NIV)so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow;
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.

Context of Acts 21:23

21These Jews here have heard about what you teach Jewish people in other countries. They think that you say to them, “You do not need to obey the Law of Moses any longer. You do not need to circumcise your children. You do not need to live in the way that Jewish people usually live.” 22We need to do something about this problem. These Jewish believers will certainly hear that you are in Jerusalem. We will tell you what you must do. There are four Jewish men in our group who have made a promise to God. 24You must go with these men to the temple. There, they will wash to make themselves clean in front of God. Join with them when they do that. Then pay the priest the money for their sacrifices. After that, the men can cut the hair off their heads. When you do that, everyone will understand about you. They will see what you have done. They will know that you yourself obey the Law of Moses. They will know that what they have heard about you is not true. 25But it is different for the Gentiles who believe in Jesus. We have already sent a letter to them. We wrote, “Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to.” ’

Acts 21:23 word by word

τοῦτο οὖν ποίησον ὅ σοι λέγομεν· εἰσὶν ἡμῖν ἄνδρες τέσσαρες εὐχὴν ἔχοντες ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Doποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• we sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• to theeσύsu · youG4771
• Weἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• haveεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• fourτέσσαρεςtessares tessara · fourG5064
• menἀνήρanēr · manG435
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a vowεὐχήeuchē · a vow/prayerG2171
• onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• themἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438

Cross-references for Acts 21:23

• Acts 18:18Paul remained in Corinth with the believers for many days. Then he left them. Priscilla and Aquila also went with him. They went to the port called Cenchrea. They got on a ship there to sail to Syria. Before they left, someone cut off all the hair on Paul's head. This showed that he had made a promise to God.
• Numbers 6:2‘Tell the Israelites this: “A man or a woman may want to make a special promise to the Lord. That will make him or her separate from other people, as a Nazirite.

Commentaries on Acts 21:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23We have four men which have a vow - From the shaving of the head, mentioned immediately after, it is evident that the four men in question were under the vow of Nazariteship; and that the days of their vow were nearly at an end, as they were about to shave their heads; for, during the time of the Nazariteship, the hair was permitted to grow, and only shaven off at the termination of the vow. Among the Jews, it was common to make vows to God on…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23We have four men - There are with us four men. It is evident that James and the elders meant to say that these men were connected with them in the Christian church; and the fact shows that the Christians at Jerusalem did not disregard the institutions of Moses, and had not been so far enlightened in the doctrines of Christianity as to forsake yet the ceremonial rites of the Jews. Which have a vow on them - Which have made a vow. See the notes on Acts…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-26Verses 19-26 Paul ascribed all his success to God, and to God they gave the praise. God had honoured him more than any of the apostles, yet they did not envy him; but on the contrary, glorified the Lord. They could not do more to encourage Paul to go on cheerfully in his work. James and the elders of the church at Jerusalem, asked Paul to gratify the believing Jews, by some compliance with the ceremonial law. They thought it was prudent in him to conform…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-25The leaders of the Jerusalem church urged Paul to strengthen his credibility. They encouraged him to demonstrate that he was not teaching Jews to abandon the laws of Moses. Meanwhile, the leaders did not force Jewish rules on Gentile converts. They had determined these terms earlier and would respect them (15:22–29).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2520-25. they glorified the Lord, &c.--constrained to justify his course, notwithstanding the Jewish complexion of the Christianity of Jerusalem.Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 21:23

• Bigotry
• Diplomacy
• Judaism
• Law
• Meekness
• Opinion, Public
• Paul
• Prudence
• Tact

In the dictionaries

• Appeal
• Discover
• James
• John
• Nazarite
• Ready
• Unlade
• Vows
• Acts of the Apostles
• Andrew

Commentaries on Acts 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings