Acts 21 · Verse 23

Acts 21:23

Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;

Acts 21:23, King James Version

Acts 21:23 in other translations

BSB	Therefore do what we advise you. There are four men with us who have taken a vow.
WEB	Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow.
ASV	Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men that have a vow on them;
YLT	‘This, therefore, do that we say to thee: We have four men having a vow on themselves,
DARBY	This do therefore that we say to thee: We have four men who have a vow on them;
BBE	Do this, then, which we say to you: We have four men who have taken an oath;
Webster	Do therefore this that we say to thee: we have four men who have a vow on them;

What does Acts 21:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 21:20-25

20-25. they glorified the Lord, &c.--constrained to justify his course, notwithstanding the Jewish complexion of the Christianity of Jerusalem.

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Barnes' Notes

Verse 23. We have four men. There are with us four men. It is evident that James and the elders meant to say, that these men were connected with them in the Christian church; and that act shows that the Christians at Jerusalem did not disregard the institutions of Moses, and had not been so far enlightened in the doctrines of Christianity as to forsake yet the ceremonial rites of the Jews.

Which have a vow on them. Which have made a vow. Acts 18:18. From the mention of shaving the head, Acts 21:24, it is evident that the vow which they had taken was that of the Nazarite; and that as the time of their vow was about expiring, they were about to be shaven, in accordance with the custom usual on such occasions. Acts 18:18. These persons Paul could join, and thus show decisively that he did not intend to undervalue or disparage the laws of Moses, when those laws were understood as mere ceremonial observances.

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 23 We have four men which have a vow - From the shaving of the head, mentioned immediately after, it is evident that the four men in question were under the vow of Nazariteship; and that the days of their vow were nearly at an end, as they were about to shave their heads; for, during the time of the Nazariteship, the hair was permitted to grow, and only shaven off at the termination of the vow. Among the Jews, it was common to make vows to God on extraordinary occasions; and that of the Nazarite appears to have been one of the most common; and it was permitted by their law for any person to perform this vow by proxy. See the law produced in my note on Num 6:21 (note). "It was also customary for the richer sort to bestow their charity on the poorer sort for this purpose; for Josephus, Ant. lib. xix. cap. 6, sec. 1, observes that Agrippa, on his being advanced from a prison to a throne, by the Emperor Claudius, came to Jerusalem; and there, among other instances of his religious thankfulness shown in the temple, Ναζαραιων ξυρασθαι διεταξε μαλα συχνους, he ordered very many Nazarites to be shaven, he furnishing them with money for the expenses of that, and of the sacrifices necessarily attending it." See Bp. Pearce.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 21:19-26

Paul ascribed all his success to God, and to God they gave the praise. God had honoured him more than any of the apostles, yet they did not envy him; but on the contrary, glorified the Lord. They could not do more to encourage Paul to go on cheerfully in his work. James and the elders of the church at Jerusalem, asked Paul to gratify the believing Jews, by some compliance with the ceremonial law. They thought it was…

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Acts 21:23 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

τοῦτοtoutoThisG3778

οὖνounthereforeG3767

ποίησονpoiēsondo youG4160

ὅhowhatG3739

σοιsoito youG4771

λέγομεν·legomenwe say;G3004

εἰσὶνeisinThere areG1510

ἡμῖνhēminwith usG3165

ἄνδρεςandresmenG435

τέσσαρεςtessaresfourG5064

εὐχὴνeuchēna vowG2171

ἔχοντεςechonteshavingG2192

ἐφ᾽eph᾽onG1909

ἑαυτῶν·he'autōnthemselves;G1438

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 21:23

Acts 18:18
And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
Numbers 6:2-7
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

We have.
18:18; Nu 6:2-7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Acts 21:22
What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Acts 21:23
Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Acts 21:24
Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

Read all of Acts 21

Acts 21:23 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Haz pues esto que te decimos: Hay entre nosotros cuatro hombres que tienen voto sobre sí:
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Fais donc ce que nous te disons: Nous avons quatre hommes qui ont fait un vœu;
German Elberfelder 1871	Tue nun dieses, was wir dir sagen: Wir haben vier Männer, die ein Gelübde auf sich haben.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Hoc ergo fac quod tibi dicimus. Sunt nobis viri quatuor, votum habentes super se.