Acts 20:22-38

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²²“But now I must obey the Spirit and go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will happen to me there. ²³I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit tells me that troubles and even jail wait for me. ²⁴I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I finish my work. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.

²⁵“And now listen to me. I know that none of you will ever see me again. All the time I was with you, I told you the Good News about God’s kingdom. ²⁶So today I can tell you one thing that I am sure of: God will not blame me if some of you are not saved. ²⁷I can say this because I know that I told you everything that God wants you to know. ²⁸Be careful for yourselves and for all the people God has given you. The Holy Spirit gave you the work of caring for^[a] this flock.^[b] You must be shepherds to the church of God,^[c] the people he bought with his own blood.^[d] ²⁹I know that after I leave, some men will come into your group. They will be like wild wolves and will try to destroy the flock. ³⁰Also, men from your own group will begin to teach things that are wrong. They will lead some of the Lord’s followers away from the truth to follow them. ³¹So be careful! And always remember what I did during the three years I was with you. I never stopped reminding each one of you how you should live, counseling you day and night and crying over you.

³²“Now I am putting you in God’s care. I am depending on the message about his grace to make you strong. That message is able to give you the blessings that God gives to all his holy people. ³³When I was with you, I never wanted anyone’s money or fine clothes. ³⁴You know that I always worked to take care of my own needs and the needs of the people who were with me. ³⁵I always showed you that you should work just as I did and help people who are weak. I taught you to remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘You will have a greater blessing when you give than when you receive.’”

³⁶When Paul finished speaking, he knelt down, and they all prayed together. ^37-38They cried and cried. They were especially sad because Paul had said they would never see him again. They hugged him and kissed him. Then they went with him to the ship to say goodbye.

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Footnotes

Acts 20:28 gave … caring for Literally, “made you overseers of.”
Acts 20:28 flock A flock is many sheep. Here, it means a group of God’s people who follow their leaders (elders) like sheep following a shepherd.
Acts 20:28 of God Some Greek copies say, “of the Lord.”
Acts 20:28 his own blood Or “the blood of his own Son.”