Albert Barnes Commentary Acts 21:5

"And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days, we departed and went on our journey; and they all, with wives and children, brought us on our way till we were out of the city: and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and bade each other farewell;" — Acts 21:5 (ASV)

Had accomplished those days. When those days were passed.

They all brought us on our way. They accompanied us. (Romans 15:24; 1 Corinthians 16:6 and 11; 3 John 1:6).

This was an expression of tender attachment, and of a deep interest in the welfare of Paul and his fellow travelers.

We kneeled down. .

On the shore. Any place is suitable for prayer . God is everywhere and can as easily hear the prayer of the humble on the seashore as in the most magnificent temple.

This is an instance, like that in Acts 20:36, where the apostle evidently prayed with the church without a form of prayer. No one can believe that he thus poured out the desires of his heart at parting, and commended them to God, in a prescribed form of words.

Besides this, there is not the least evidence that such a form was then used in the Christian church: scenes like this demonstrate more clearly than abstract arguments could, that such a form was not needed and would not be used.

Paul and his fellow Christians, on the sand of the seashore, would pour forth the gushing emotions of their souls in language their circumstances would suggest and such a scene would demand. Indeed, it is presumed impossible for anyone to read this narrative dispassionately without believing that they offered an extempore prayer.