21:9

four unmarried daughters: This phrase implies that these daughters were adults but not yet married. Use a word or phrase for daughters that refers to grown women.

who prophesied: Someone who prophesied received messages from God. The message may be in words or visions. It may reveal something about a past, present, or future event, or it may reveal someone’s thoughts, motives, or attitudes. It is not like a sermon, prepared by the preacher’s study of the Bible, but God may inspire a preacher with a prophecy during a sermon. Sometimes, the theme of a prophecy is that people must stop sinning and obey God. The person speaks the prophecy to the people or writes it down for their use.

Here the Greek word indicates that they frequently prophesied. God gave them messages in the past and would in the future. It does not indicate that they prophesied about Paul when he arrived. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

who were prophets/prophetesses
-or-
who had the gift of prophecy (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
who were inspired by God
-or-
to whom God gave his messages/prophecies
-or-
They were frequently being inspired by the Holy Spirit with what God wanted them to tell to the people

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