21:30a

The whole city was stirred up: The news of trouble at the temple caused everyone or nearly everyone in the city to be upset and provoked to react angrily. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Then all the city was provoked (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Then all the city was stirred up (English Standard Version)
-or-
The whole city was in an uproar (Contemporary English Version)

The whole city: In some languages it is more natural to speak of the people in the city. For example:

everyone in the city

21:30b

the people rushed together: This clause in Greek is literally “there was a running together of the people.” It indicates that many people in the city ran to the temple. It implies that they became a huge crowd. Other ways to translate this clause are:

people came running from all sides (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
people came running ⌊and a crowd gathered quickly⌋
-or-
people ran there ⌊and a mob formed⌋

21:30c

They seized Paul: This phrase indicates that some of the crowd grabbed Paul at that time. The Jews from Asia already grabbed him in 21:27c. They were still holding him but now more people grabbed him.

dragged him: The word dragged indicates that they pulled Paul. He was forced to walk in the direction they pulled him. They did not actually drag him like people might drag a dead person. In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

they pulled him
-or-
they forced him

dragged: The Greek grammar indicates that they dragged him for some time. They probably grabbed Paul in the temple courtyard for the Jewish women or the courtyard for the Jewish men. If they were in the courtyard for the men, they dragged Paul through the courtyard for the Jewish women and through the courtyard for the Gentiles. They dragged him somewhere beyond the temple area, but perhaps not far beyond.

However, the English “began to drag” would imply that they did not finish dragging him out of the temple area. The phrase “were dragging” also does not have the correct meaning here. So the English versions translate the Greek word with the simple past tense.

21:30d

and at once the gates were shut: As soon as the crowd dragged Paul outside the wall surrounding the temple courtyard, the temple guards shut the gates. The crowd continued dragging Paul after the gates were shut. For example:

and as soon as ⌊they were outside⌋ the gates were shut

The temple guards shut the gates to prevent people who were rioting to enter the temple area. In many languages, that implied information will be clear. But in some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate a different reason. If that is true in your language, make the implied information explicit. For example:

and as soon as ⌊they were outside⌋ the gates were shut ⌊to prevent the crowd from rioting in the temple area⌋

the gates were shut: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. Probably the temple guards shut the gates. For example:

⌊the temple guards⌋ shut the gates
-or-

⌊others⌋ shut the gates

the gates: The word gates probably refers to the gates in the wall that surrounded the courtyard for the Jewish women. It is probably not important here to explain which gates of the temple these were.

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