Section 21:27–36
People began to riot and Paul was arrested
In this section, Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They mistakenly believed that he said Jews should disregard the Jewish law. They also mistakenly thought that he had defiled the temple by bringing Gentiles into the place reserved only for Jews. They shouted these thoughts and caused a riot. The rioters grabbed Paul and took him outside the temple area. They began hitting him in order to kill him.
But a Roman military commander came with his soldiers and arrested Paul. The commander asked the crowd who this man was and what he had done, but the crowd was angry and disorderly so he did not get a proper answer. The commander began to lead Paul away and the crowd became violent. Despite the efforts of the crowd, the commander and his soldiers brought Paul to their barracks.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul Seized in the Temple (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Paul’s enemies tried to murder him
-or-
The Jews started to riot about Paul
-or-
Seeing Paul, Jews from Asia started to riot and the Romans arrested him
Paragraph 21:27–30
21:27a
When the seven days were almost over: This clause probably refers to the sixth day. Translate in a way that implies that meaning. For example:
When the seven days were almost completed (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
when the seven days were about to come to an end (Good News Translation)
the seven days: This phrase refers to the days of the purification ceremony (21:26). In some languages a literal translation would not connect to 21:26. If that is true in your language, make the connection clear. For example:
those seven days
-or-
the seven days ⌊of purification⌋
-or-
the seven days ⌊of being ritually purified⌋
21:27b
the province of Asia: The Berean Standard Bible adds the phrase province of. At that time the name Asia referred to a region in what is now the western part of the country of Turkey. See how you translated this phrase in 20:18.
21:27c
They stirred up the whole crowd: The phrase stirred up is an English idiom. It refers to causing a crowd to become angry and act in a disorderly manner. It has the same meaning as the Greek word here. Other ways to translate this clause are:
They…roused a mob (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
They caused all the people to be upset (New Century Version)
-or-
They incited the whole crowd
See how you translated the phrase stirred up in 6:12 or 14:2.
stirred up: The Greek verb probably indicates that the Jews from Asia continued to stir up the crowd for some time. For example:
began to stir up (New American Standard Bible)
seized him: This phrase in Greek is literally “put the hands upon him.” It is an idiom that means to firmly take hold of someone. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
laid hands on him (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
grabbed Paul (Good News Translation)
-or-
captured him
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