Bible Strands
Acts 24:18
At the time they found me in the temple, I was ceremonially clean and was not inciting a crowd or an uproar. But there are some Jews from the province of Asia
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses his accusers and the presiding magistrate in Jerusalem, speaking at the moment of his trial to clarify the exact circumstances of his arrest. He specifies that authorities located him in the temple while he was maintaining his ritual status.
The words — ἡγνισμένον (hēgnismenon) translates literally as "purified" or "ceremonially clean," describing Paul's ritual condition when officials located him in the ἱερῷ (hi'erō), the temple precincts. This lexical choice directly establishes his compliance with Jewish purity regulations at the time of his detention.
The thread — The claim that accusers found him ritually clean and non-disruptive repeats the admission in Acts 24:12 that they discovered no debate or crowd-riling. Paul's prior purification with others in Acts 21:26 and the subsequent temple seizure in Acts 26:21 frame this statement within a pattern of temple-related encounters.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to separate factual ritual compliance from the political charges brought against Paul. It demands that claims of sedition be weighed against documented evidence of peaceful observance rather than rumor.
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
Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult.
Cross-references
- Acts 21:26 So the next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he entered the temple to give notice of the date when their purification would be complete and the offering would be made for each of them.
- Acts 26:21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
- Acts 24:12 Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.