Chapter

Acts 21:6

ESV and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.
NIV After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
NASB Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.
CSB we said farewell to one another and boarded the ship, and they returned home.
NLT and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.
KJV And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.

What does Acts 21:6 mean?

For several months, Paul has been saying "goodbye" to people. This includes the churches in Ephesus, Troas, Philippi, and Thessalonica, and twice in Berea. Now, he says farewell to the church in Tyre: a church he may never have met with before. Even so, they become distraught when they realize Paul is headed to Jerusalem where he will be imprisoned. They try to convince him not to go. Yet Paul knows the Holy Spirit's "warning" is not so he can avoid hardship but so that he will be prepared for it. So, the church prays for him as he leaves (Acts 21:3–5).

Around this time, Paul writes a letter to another church he'd never met: Rome. In Romans 8, Paul speaks about the place of suffering in the Christian life. He says suffering for God is a sign that we are His children and that He will glorify us (Romans 8:17). Paul tells them, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). He reminds us that everything—including suffering—works "together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28–30). And that although we may suffer in the world, nothing can take us from God (Romans 8:38–39).

The key, Paul says, is to set our minds on the Holy Spirit and make sure He indwells our hearts. If we belong to God, even if we die, we will live (2 Corinthians 5:6–8).
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: