“Doe therefore this that we say to thee: Wee haue foure men which haue a vow on them,”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
21:23 Therefore - To obviate their prejudice against thee: do this that we say to thee - Doubtless they meant this advice well: but could Paul follow it in godly sincerity? Was not the yielding so far to the judgment of others too great a deference to be paid to any mere men?
Ac 21:23 Do therefore this. This counsel is given that the multitude of Jewish Christians may see that Paul still kept the Jewish customs. As he did keep them, not as a matter of obligation, but as a Jew, in order that he might reach his own race, it involved no sacrifice of principles. We have four men which have a vow. These were Jewish Christians. The vow was a Nazaritish vow. For a description, see Nu 6:14-18 . This vow involved living an ascetic life for a certain period, sometimes thirty days, and was terminated by shaving the head, burning the hair as an offering, and offering a sacrifice.