Acts 21:30
in Acts 21The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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.
KJV
And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.
⋯
This verse in Acts 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThey wanted to kill him and dragged him out of the temple, so that they could commit the murder with greater boldness.
This site's exposition
at once the gates were shut
on Acts 21:30-31
The crowd dragged Paul out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. While they tried to kill him, the Roman commander heard that all Jerusalem was in turmoil. The fortress Antonia adjoined the temple so that its garrison could answer this kind of disturbance.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut." "Men of Israel," it says, "help: this is the man that teaches against the people, and the law, and this place." - the things which most trouble them, the Temple and the Law. And Paul does not tax the Apostles with being the cause of these things to him. "And they drew him," it says, "out of the Temple: and the doors were shut." For they wished to kill him; and therefore were dragging him out, to do this with greater security.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And all the city was moved, and the people ran together,.... The outcry in the temple reached the ears of some that were without, and these alarmed others; so that the report of a disturbance in the temple soon went through the whole city; and brought people out of their houses, who ran together in great numbers, to see what was the matter: and they took Paul and drew him out of the temple; as unworthy to be in that holy place; and that it might not be defiled with his blood; for their intention was nothing less than to take away his life: and forthwith the doors were shut; not of themselves, as if there was something miraculous in it, as some have thought, but by the door keepers, the Levites; and which might be done, partly to prevent Paul's returning into it for refuge at the horns of the altar, and partly to keep out the Gentiles from coming in, they were alarmed with.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
They took Paul - They tumultuously seized on him; and drew him out of the temple, out of the court of the Israelites, where he was worshipping: and - the doors were shut; the doors of the court of the Gentiles, probably to prevent Paul from getting any succor from his friends in the city; for their whole proceedings show that they purposed to murder him: they brought him out of the court of the Israelites, that court being peculiarly holy, that it might not be defiled by his blood; and they shut the court of the Gentiles, that they might have the opportunity unmolested of killing him in that place; for the court of the Gentiles was reckoned to be less holy than that of the Israelites.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Jews . . . of Asia--in all likelihood those of Ephesus (since they recognized Trophimus apparently as a townsman, Ac 21:29), embittered by their discomfiture (Ac 19:9, &c.).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The city was moved - Was agitated; was thrown into commotion. Drew him out of the temple - Under the pretence that he had defiled it. The evident design was to put him to death, Act 21:31. The doors were shut - The doors leading into the courts of the temple.
The words behind it
24 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐκινήθη | ekinethe | Was thrown into commotion | G2795 → | 8 times |
| τε | te | also | G5037 → | 213 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πόλις | polis | city | G4172 → | 163 times |
| ὅλη | hole | whole | G3650 → | 109 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐγένετο | egeneto | there was | G1096 → | 667 times |
| συνδρομὴ | sundrome | a rushing together | G4890 → | |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| λαοῦ, | laou | people, | G2992 → | 141 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐπιλαβόμενοι | epilabomenoi | having laid hold | G1949 → | 19 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Παύλου | paulou | of Paul | G3972 → | 158 times |
| εἷλκον | heilkon | they were dragging | G1670 → | |
| αὐτὸν | auton | him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἔξω | exo | outside | G1854 → | 63 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἱεροῦ· | hi'erou | temple; | G2411 → | 70 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εὐθέως | eutheos | immediately | G2112 → | 87 times |
| ἐκλείσθησαν | ekleisthesan | were shut | G2808 → | |
| αἱ | hai | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θύραι. | thurai | doors. | G2374 → | 39 times |
ἐκινήθηWas thrown into commotion
ekinetheG2795 →8 times
τεalso
teG5037 →213 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
πόλιςcity
polisG4172 →163 times
ὅληwhole
holeG3650 →109 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐγένετοthere was
egenetoG1096 →667 times
συνδρομὴa rushing together
sundromeG4890 →
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
λαοῦ,people,
laouG2992 →141 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐπιλαβόμενοιhaving laid hold
epilabomenoiG1949 →19 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
Παύλουof Paul
paulouG3972 →158 times
εἷλκονthey were dragging
heilkonG1670 →
αὐτὸνhim
autonG846 →5565 times
ἔξωoutside
exoG1854 →63 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
ἱεροῦ·temple;
hi'erouG2411 →70 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εὐθέωςimmediately
eutheosG2112 →87 times
ἐκλείσθησανwere shut
ekleisthesanG2808 →
αἱthe
haiG3588 →19766 times
θύραι.doors.
thuraiG2374 →39 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 11:26In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger…
it leads to
- Acts 25:3
to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 14:5
But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,
- Acts 17:5
The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas,…
- Acts 25:3
Through
Acts 19:29Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
it leads to
- Acts 20:4
Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
- Philemon 1:24
as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
- Colossians 4:10
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas. You have already received instructions about him: If he comes to you, welcome him.
- Acts 27:2
We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
- Acts 20:4
Through
Acts 26:21For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
it leads to
- Acts 21:30–31
The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
- Acts 21:30–31
Where this verse is studied
About Acts

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J. A. Alexander, Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 46; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.
