Bible Strands
Acts 26:21
For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses King Agrippa and Governor Festus during his formal defense, recounting his prior hostility toward the early church immediately before detailing his commission to preach repentance to Jews and Gentiles.
The words — The Greek phrase ἕνεκα τούτων (heneka toutōn) translates literally as "on account of these things," anchoring the persecution directly to the preceding message. The aorist participle συλλαβόμενοι (sullabomenoi) means "having seized," denoting the completed physical act of apprehension in the temple precincts.
The thread — This incident parallels the temple disturbance in Acts 21:27 and Acts 21:30, where Jews from Asia stirred the crowd and dragged Paul from the courts. Paul later references this same pattern of violent Jewish opposition in Acts 22:22 when addressing the Jerusalem mob.
Why it lands — The text records that proclaiming repentance to both Jews and Gentiles provoked immediate physical seizure and lethal intent. It requires the reader to accept that faithful witness historically triggers organized opposition without softening the factual account.
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
For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.
Cross-references
- Acts 21:30 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 21:27 When the seven days were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,
- Acts 22:22 The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”
- Acts 23:12 When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
- 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.