Bible Strands
Acts 21:22
What then should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Jerusalem believers address Paul concerning a circulating rumor that he instructs diaspora Jews to abandon Mosaic customs. They pose the question at the precise moment his arrival threatens to trigger a public reaction.
The words — πλῆθος (plēthos) = multitude and ἀκούσονται (akousontai) = they will hear. These terms frame the situation as an impending public awareness rather than a private matter.
The thread — The tension between public assembly and church guidance appears in Acts 15:12 and Acts 15:22, where leaders address Gentile inclusion before the whole community, and in Acts 19:32, where an uncontrolled multitude generates confusion.
Why it lands — It requires a reader to acknowledge how public perception dictates communal strategy. The verse demands practical planning when personal conduct intersects with established group expectations.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Cross-references
- Acts 15:12 The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
- Acts 15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,
- Acts 19:32 Meanwhile the assembly was in turmoil. Some were shouting one thing and some another, and most of them did not even know why they were there.