Acts 21:6
in Acts 21And after we had said our farewells, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and we went on board the ship, but they returned home again.
KJV
And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.
⋯
This verse in Acts 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd when we had taken our leave one of another,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, "having prayed, we saluted one another"; with a kiss, as in Act 20:37 and so parted: we took ship; or went aboard the ship, and they returned home again; to their own houses, as the Syriac version renders it; for by "their own", as it is in the Greek text, cannot be meant their families, their wives, and children, for these were along with them, but their habitations; see Joh 16:32.
This site's exposition
knelt down on the beach
on Acts 21:5-6
All the disciples, with their wives and children, walked the company out of Tyre and knelt down on the beach to pray. The public farewell repeats the prayer at Miletus, and the same pattern of parting closes both scenes.
This site's exposition
said our farewells
Adam Clarke takes the farewell as the kiss of peace, the greeting Jews and the first Christians gave one another. John Gill notes that the Alexandrian manuscript joins the prayer and the greeting together, as at Miletus in Acts 20:37. Then the travelers sailed on.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Paul left his blessing behind him with those that returned home, and those that staid sent their prayers after those that went to sea. Their arrival at Ptolemais, which was not far from Tyre (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Taken - leave - Ασπασαμενοι; Having given each other the kiss of peace, as was the constant custom of the Jews and primitive Christians. They returned home - That is, the men, their wives, and their children.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
finding disciples--finding out the disciples, implying some search. They would expect such, from what is recorded, Ac 11:19. Perhaps they were not many; yet there were gifted ones among them. who said to Paul . . . that he should not go up to Jerusalem--(See on Ac 20:23; also see on Ac 21:11-14).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀπησπασάμεθα | apespasametha | we greeted | G782 → | 57 times |
| ἀλλήλους | allelous | one another | G240 → | 100 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀνέβημεν | anebemen | we went up | G305 → | 82 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πλοῖον, | ploion | boat, | G4143 → | 67 times |
| ἐκεῖνοι | ekeinoi | they | G1565 → | 260 times |
| δὲ | de | then | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ὑπέστρεψαν | hupestrepsan | returned | G5290 → | 35 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὰ | ta | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἴδια. | idia | [their] own. | G2398 → | 114 times |
ἀπησπασάμεθαwe greeted
apespasamethaG782 →57 times
ἀλλήλουςone another
allelousG240 →100 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀνέβημενwe went up
anebemenG305 →82 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
πλοῖον,boat,
ploionG4143 →67 times
ἐκεῖνοιthey
ekeinoiG1565 →260 times
δὲthen
deG1161 →2765 times
ὑπέστρεψανreturned
hupestrepsanG5290 →35 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὰ<the>
taG3588 →19766 times
ἴδια.[their] own.
idiaG2398 →114 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
John 1:11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
it leads to
- Luke 19:14
But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- Isaiah 53:2–3
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
- John 3:32
He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony.
- Acts 7:51–52
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Luke 20:13–15
‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’
- Luke 19:14
Through
John 16:32“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father…
it leads to
- Zechariah 13:7
Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against…
- Matthew 26:31
Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be…
- John 8:29
He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”
- Zechariah 13:7
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, On the Acts of the Apostles; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.