Acts 20-21

New King James Version

Journeys in Greece

20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and ^(A)departed to go to Macedonia. ² Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to ^(B)Greece ³ and stayed three months. And ^(C)when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. ⁴ And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also ^(D)Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and ^(E)Gaius of Derbe, and ^(F)Timothy, and ^(G)Tychicus and ^(H)Trophimus of Asia. ⁵ These men, going ahead, waited for us at ^(I)Troas. ⁶ But we sailed away from Philippi after ^(J)the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them ^(K)at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

Ministering at Troas

⁷ Now on ^(L)the first day of the week, when the disciples came together ^(M)to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps ^(N)in the upper room where ^[a]they were gathered together. ⁹ And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down, ^(O)fell on him, and embracing him said, ^(P)“Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. ¹² And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

From Troas to Miletus

¹³ Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had ^[b]given orders, intending himself to go on foot. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for ^(Q)he was hurrying ^(R)to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on ^(S)the Day of Pentecost.

The Ephesian Elders Exhorted

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, ^(T)from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me ^(U)by the plotting of the Jews; ²⁰ how ^(V)I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, ^21 (W)testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, ^(X)repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And see, now ^(Y)I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(Z)the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. ^24 [c]But ^(AA)none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, ^(AB)so that I may finish my ^[d]race with joy, ^(AC)and the ministry ^(AD)which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵ “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. ²⁶ Therefore I testify to you this day that I am ^(AE)innocent^[e] of the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not ^[f]shunned to declare to you ^(AF)the whole counsel of God. ^28 (AG)Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit ^(AH)has made you overseers, to shepherd the church ^[g]of God ^(AI)which He purchased ^(AJ)with His own blood. ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure ^(AK)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also ^(AL)from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking ^[h]perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. ³¹ Therefore watch, and remember that ^(AM)for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

³² “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and ^(AN)to the word of His grace, which is able ^(AO)to build you up and give you ^(AP)an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. ^34 [i]Yes, you yourselves know ^(AQ)that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. ³⁵ I have shown you in every way, ^(AR)by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶ And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ Then they all ^(AS)wept ^[j]freely, and ^(AT)fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, ³⁸ sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

Warnings on the Journey to Jerusalem

21 Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. ² And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. ³ When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. ⁴ And finding ^[k]disciples, we stayed there seven days. ^(AU)They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. ⁵ When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And ^(AV)we knelt down on the shore and prayed. ⁶ When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned ^(AW)home.

⁷ And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. ⁸ On the next day we ^[l]who were Paul’s companions departed and came to ^(AX)Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip ^(AY)the evangelist, ^(AZ)who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. ⁹ Now this man had four virgin daughters ^(BA)who prophesied. ¹⁰ And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named ^(BB)Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(BC)‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

¹² Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, ^(BD)“What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

¹⁴ So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, ^(BE)“The will of the Lord be done.”

Paul Urged to Make Peace

¹⁵ And after those days we ^[m]packed and went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.

^17 (BF)And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ¹⁸ On the following day Paul went in with us to ^(BG)James, and all the elders were present. ¹⁹ When he had greeted them, ^(BH)he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles ^(BI)through his ministry. ²⁰ And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ^(BJ)zealous for the law; ²¹ but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. ^22 [n]What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. ²³ Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. ²⁴ Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may ^(BK)shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. ²⁵ But concerning the Gentiles who believe, ^(BL)we have written and decided ^[o]that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from ^[p]sexual immorality.”

Arrested in the Temple

²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, ^(BM)entered the temple ^(BN)to announce the ^[q]expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

²⁷ Now when the seven days were almost ended, ^(BO)the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and ^(BP)laid hands on him, ²⁸ crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man ^(BQ)who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ (For they had ^[r]previously seen ^(BR)Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

³⁰ And ^(BS)all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹ Now as they were ^(BT)seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the ^[s]garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ^32 (BU)He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³ Then the ^(BV)commander came near and took him, and ^(BW)commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. ³⁴ And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another.

So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. ³⁵ When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. ³⁶ For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, ^(BX)“Away with him!”

Addressing the Jerusalem Mob^(BY)

³⁷ Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?”

He replied, “Can you speak Greek? ^38 (BZ)Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹ But Paul said, ^(CA)“I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no ^[t]mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰ So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and ^(CB)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the ^(CC)Hebrew language, saying,