11. He came to us and borrowed Paul’s belt. He used it to tie his own hands and feet. He said, “The Holy Spirit tells me, ‘This is how the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man who wears this belt. Then they will hand him over to people who don’t know God.’”
12. When we heard this, we and the other followers there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.
13. But he said, “Why are you crying and making me feel so sad? I am willing to be put in jail in Jerusalem. I am even ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!”
14. We could not persuade him to stay away from Jerusalem. So we stopped begging him and said, “We pray that what the Lord wants will be done.”
15. After this, we got ready and left for Jerusalem.
16. Some of the followers of Jesus from Caesarea went with us. These followers took us to the home of Mnason, a man from Cyprus, who was one of the first people to be a follower of Jesus. They took us to his home so that we could stay with him.
17. The brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were very happy to see us.
18. The next day Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were there.
19. After greeting them, Paul told them point by point all that God had used him to do among the non-Jewish people.
20. When the leaders heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul, “Brother, you can see that thousands of Jews have become believers, but they think it is very important to obey the Law of Moses.
21. They have been told that you teach the Jews who live in non-Jewish regions to stop following the Law of Moses. They have heard that you tell them not to circumcise their sons or follow our other customs.
22. “What should we do? The Jewish believers here will learn that you have come.
23. So we will tell you what to do: Four of our men have made a vow to God.
24. Take these men with you and share in their cleansing ceremony. Pay their expenses so that they can shave their heads. This will prove to everyone that the things they have heard about you are not true. They will see that you obey the Law of Moses in your own life.
25. “In regard to the non-Jewish believers, we have already sent a letter to them saying what we think they should do: ‘Don’t eat food that has been given to idols. Don’t eat meat from animals that have been strangled or any meat that still has the blood in it. Don’t be involved in sexual sin.’”
26. So Paul took the four men with him. The next day he shared in their cleansing ceremony. Then he went to the Temple area and announced the time when the days of the cleansing ceremony would be finished. On the last day an offering would be given for each of the men.
27. When the seven-day period was almost finished, some Jews from Asia saw Paul in the Temple area. They stirred up everyone into an angry mob. They grabbed Paul
28. and shouted, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who is teaching things that are against the Law of Moses, against our people, and against this Temple of ours. This is what he teaches people everywhere. And now he has brought some Greeks into the Temple area and has made this holy place unclean!”
29. (The Jews said this because they had seen Trophimus with Paul in Jerusalem. Trophimus was a man from Ephesus. The Jews thought that Paul had taken him into the holy area of the Temple.)