For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
Paul seized in the very temple where he ought to have been safe, where his blood nearly mingles with the sacrifices themselves. The informers were Jews of Asia, men who lived abroad in pursuit of gain, yet now they appear zealous for a sanctuary they habitually neglected, profaning with their own hands the place they pretend to guard.
AI summary
Commenting on Acts 21:27-40
They saw Trophimus walking with Paul through Jerusalem's streets and leaped to the conclusion he'd been taken into the temple, a rash, baseless surmise that exposed their malice. It shows how eagerly they seized on any pretext, however thin, to move against him.
AI summary
They saw one fact and inferred another. No one claimed to have witnessed Trophimus in the temple itself; they merely supposed it, and that supposition was enough to inflame the crowd. How much slander and false accusation would vanish if men would state facts as they are instead of charging others with what they merely suppose.
AI summary