使徒行传 20
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
保罗再访马其顿和希腊
20 这场风波平息后，保罗召集众门徒勉励一番后，便辞别他们去了马其顿。 2 他走遍那一带，用许多劝勉的话鼓励当地的门徒。之后，他又去希腊， 3 在那里逗留了三个月。当保罗正要乘船去叙利亚时，听闻犹太人计划要害他，就决定经马其顿回去。 4 同他到亚细亚去的人有庇哩亚人毕罗斯的儿子所巴特、帖撒罗尼迦人亚里达古和西公都，还有特庇人该犹、提摩太、亚细亚人推基古和特罗非摩。 5 他们先到特罗亚等候我们。 6 除酵节过后，我们从腓立比启航，五天后在特罗亚和他们会合，大家同住了七天。
犹推古死而复活
7 七日的第一日[a]，我们聚会掰饼，保罗因为次日要离开，就向他们讲道，直到深夜。 8 我们聚会的楼上整夜灯火通明。 9 有个名叫犹推古的青年坐在窗台上听道。保罗讲了许久，犹推古不胜困倦睡着了，竟从三楼掉了下去。别人将他抱起来时，他已经死了。 10 保罗下去伏在他身上，抱着他对众人说：“不要惊慌，他还活着！” 11 保罗说完就回到楼上，与大家一同掰饼、用餐，又谈了很久，直到天亮才离去。 12 大家非常欣慰地把活过来的犹推古送回了家。
保罗告别以弗所的众长老
13 我们照保罗的吩咐先乘船到亚朔预备在那里接他，他打算由陆路步行到那里。 14 他到了亚朔，我们接他上船，一同前往米推利尼。 15 我们从米推利尼启航，第二天到了基阿附近，第三天到达撒摩，第四天在米利都停泊。 16 保罗急于赶回耶路撒冷，希望在五旬节前赶到，所以决定不去以弗所，免得在亚细亚境内耽误太久。
17 保罗从米利都派人到以弗所请教会的长老前来与他相会。 18 他们都来了，保罗说：“各位，自从我踏进亚细亚那天起，在你们当中为人如何，你们都很清楚。 19 我含着眼泪谦卑地事奉主，又遭到犹太人的迫害，历尽艰辛。 20 你们也知道，凡是对你们有益的事，我没有避而不宣，我总是在公开场合和各人家中教导你们。 21 我劝犹太人和希腊人都要悔改，归向上帝，信靠主耶稣基督。 22 现在，我在圣灵的催促下去耶路撒冷，不知道在那里会发生什么事， 23 只知道圣灵在各城镇指示我，前面必有监禁和苦难等着我。 24 不过，只要能跑完我当跑的路程，完成主耶稣交托给我的使命——为上帝充满恩典的福音做见证，就是牺牲性命，我也在所不惜。
25 “我一向在你们中间传扬上帝的国，如今我知道，以后你们再也见不到我的面了。 26 所以今天我向你们声明，将来你们有谁灭亡，与我无关。 27 因为上帝的整个计划，我没有向你们避而不宣。 28 你们要为自己，也要为教会的群羊警醒，因为圣灵已经任命你们做群羊的监督，牧养上帝的教会。教会是主用自己的血赎回来的。 29 我知道，在我离开以后，一定会有凶恶的豺狼闯进你们中间，残害羊群。 30 就是你们中间也会有人起来歪曲真理，引诱门徒跟随他们。 31 所以你们一定要警醒，牢记这三年来我怎样昼夜不住地流着泪劝诫你们。
32 “现在，我把你们交托给上帝和祂充满恩典的道，这道能造就你们，使你们与一切圣洁的人同得产业。 33 我从未贪图别人的金银和衣服， 34 你们都知道，我亲手做工养活自己和同工。 35 我凡事以身作则，教导你们勤奋工作，帮助软弱的人，并牢记主耶稣的话，‘施比受更有福。’”
36 保罗说完这番话，就和大家一同跪下祷告。 37 众人都哭了，抱着保罗与他亲吻， 38 最使他们伤心的就是他说“你们再也见不到我的面了”。最后，众人送他上了船。
Footnotes
- 20:7 照犹太人的算法，太阳下山后为一日的开始，基督徒又以礼拜天为一周之始，所以七日的第一日很有可能是礼拜六晚上。
Acts 20
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 20
Journey to Macedonia and Greece.[a] 1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he embraced them and set out on his journey to Macedonia.[b] 2 As he traveled through those areas, he gave the believers much encouragement. Then he arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months.
Return to Troas. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot against him was devised by the Jews, and so he decided to return by way of Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.[c] 5 They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas.[d] 6 We sailed from Philippi after the feast of Unleavened Bread, and five days later we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
Paul’s Witness and Testament[e]
Paul Raises Eutychus to Life. 7 On the first day of the week, when we gathered for the breaking of the bread, Paul spoke to the people, and because he was going to leave on the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled, 9 and a young man named Eutychus, who was sitting on the window ledge, became ever more drowsy as Paul talked on and on. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below, and when they picked him up, he was dead.
10 Paul went down, threw himself upon him, and took him in his arms. “Do not be alarmed,” he said. “He is still alive.”[f] 11 Then he went back upstairs and broke bread and ate. He went on to converse with them until dawn, at which time he left. 12 Meanwhile, they had taken the boy home, greatly relieved that he was alive.
13 Journey to Miletus. We went on ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard, since he intended to continue his journey by land. 14 When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene.
15 We sailed from there, and on the following day we reached a point opposite Chios. A day later, we reached Samos; and the day after that, we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order to avoid spending time in the province of Asia. He was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
17 Paul’s Farewell Speech at Miletus.[g] From Miletus, he sent a message to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the Church. 18 When they came to him, he addressed them as follows:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that befell me as a result of the intrigues of the Jews. 20 I did not hesitate to tell you what was for your benefit as I proclaimed the word to you and taught you publicly as well as from house to house. 21 I have attested to Jews and Gentiles alike about repentance before God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that I will face imprisonment and hardships. 24 As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “I have gone among you proclaiming the kingdom, but now I realize that none of you will ever see my face again. 26 Therefore, I solemnly declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, and be shepherds of the Church of God that he purchased with the price of his own blood.
29 “I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own ranks men will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. 31 Therefore, be on your guard. Remember that for three years I never ceased night and day to warn every one of you with tears.
32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace that is able to build you up and give you your inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You are aware that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. 35 In all this, I have shown you that by such hard work we must help the weak, keeping in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”[h]
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down and prayed with them. 37 They were all weeping loudly as they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 for they were deeply distressed at his words that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.
Footnotes
- Acts 20:1 This departure constitutes an important moment as indicated by the fact that Luke inserts a list of Paul’s companions. Then he describes three brief journeys: one to Greece, to revisit the communities, especially that of Corinth, which had caused some trouble; the second to Troas; and the third to Miletus, on the return route to Jerusalem.
In connection with these journeys we discover new aspects of the life of the communities. The Eucharist, which had been mentioned at the beginning of Acts (2:46), is clearly referred to here: Christians came together on Sunday (“the first day of the week”) in order to “break bread,” after a lengthy hearing of the Gospel and a communal reflection on it. The raising of the boy is a sign of the presence of the Lord; through his Resurrection, life is possible in its fullness. - Acts 20:1 Paul had apparently been seeking to preach in Troas on his way to Macedonia, meet Titus at Troas with a report from Corinth (see 2 Cor 2:12f), and continue collecting the offering for Judea (see Rom 15:25-28; 1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:1—9:15).
- Acts 20:4 These men have no doubt been assigned to accompany Paul and the collection for the needy in Judea (see 2 Cor 8:23).
- Acts 20:5 Here begins the second so-called “we-section” of Acts (see note on Acts 16:9-15).
- Acts 20:7 In this chapter, it is no longer a case of proclaiming the word or creating a Church; it is a moment of respite and retreat that clears up Paul’s personal destiny and expresses the principal concerns for the development and perseverance of a Church. Paul is aware that he will never return (see Acts 21:14), and he envisages undergoing the same suffering as Christ. The Book of Acts will not recount his martyrdom, no more than it will enlighten us about Peter’s martyrdom, for this Book is not intended to be a biography of the apostles. Its purpose is to make known the life of the Churches and the power of the Spirit who animates them, the great realities that ensure their development, their relationships and their unity. The communities are to find themselves devoted to one another, but with the Spirit (v. 28) and the living tradition that carries them along. The atmosphere recalls Christ’s discourse after the Last Supper (Jn 14–16). Paul gives his testament.
- Acts 20:10 Paul’s action of throwing himself upon a boy thought to be dead recalls that of Elijah in raising the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Ki 17:21) and that of Elisha in raising the son of the Shunammite (2 Ki 4:34). Thus, as Peter had raised Tabitha (Acts 9:40), so now Paul raises Eutychus.
- Acts 20:17 This farewell scene is especially important for the history of the Church as an institution. Those whom Paul summons are the “elders” (in Greek: presbyteroi, whence our “priests”), whom he describes (v. 28) as “shepherds” and “overseers” (Greek: episkopoi, whence our “bishops”; see 1 Pet 2:25), i.e., as responsible for the spiritual nourishment, guidance, and protection of the People of God. This authority they receive not from the assembly of the faithful but from the Spirit.
Here, in substance, is the ecclesial structure in which we live today (although only later would a distinction be made between “presbyters” and “bishops”). - Acts 20:35 It is more blessed to give than to receive: a saying of Jesus that is not found in the canonical Gospels.
Acts 20
Revised Geneva Translation
20 Now after the disturbance abated, Paul called the disciples to him, and embraced them, and left for Macedonia.
2 And when he had gone through those parts, and had encouraged them with many words, he came into Greece.
3 And after staying there for three months, he was about to sail for Syria. But he decided to return through Macedonia because the Jews had set a trap for him.
4 And Sopater of Berea accompanied him into Asia, as well as Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus.
5 These went ahead and awaited us at Troas.
6 And after the days of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi. And five days later we joined them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
7 And the first day of the week (the disciples having come together to break bread), Paul, ready to leave the next day, preached to them, and continued preaching until midnight.
8 And there were many lights in the upper room where they were gathered together.
9 And a certain young man named Eutychus had fallen into a dead sleep while sitting in a window. And as Paul preached at length, he was overcome with sleep and fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.
10 But Paul went down, and laid himself on him, and embraced him, saying, “Do not trouble yourselves. For his life is in him.”
11 Then, after having come up again and broken bread and eaten, he talked a long while (till daybreak) and left.
12 And they brought the boy (alive). And they were not a little comforted.
13 But we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, so that we might receive Paul there. For so had he arranged and would himself go on foot.
14 Now when he had met us in Assos, and we had received him, we went to Mitylene.
15 And we sailed from there the next day and came opposite Chios. And the next day we arrived at Samos and stayed in Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus.
16 For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, because he did not want to spend time in Asia. For he hurried to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
17 Therefore he sent word to Ephesus from Miletus and called the elders of the church.
18 When they had come, he said to them, “You know how I have lived with you at all times, from the first day that I came into Asia;
19 “serving the Lord with all modesty, and with many tears and temptations (which came to me by the plotting of the Jews).
20 “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable, but have showed you, and taught you openly, and throughout every house;
21 “witnessing the repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ to both the Jews and the Greeks.
22 “And now behold I go, bound in the Spirit, to Jerusalem. And I do not know what things shall come to me there,
23 “except that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
24 “But these things do not move me. Nor is my life dear to me. So that I may fulfill my course, and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus (to testify the Gospel of the grace of God) with joy.
25 “And now behold, I know that hereafter all of you among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God shall no longer see my face.
26 “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all.
27 “For I have kept nothing back but have declared to you the whole counsel of God.
28 “Therefore, attend to yourselves, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood.
29 “For I know this: that after my departing, grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 “Moreover, men shall arise from your own selves, speaking perverse things to draw disciples away with them.
31 “Therefore watch. And remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone, both night and day, with tears.
32 “And now brothers, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build further, and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
33 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel.
34 “Yes, you know that these hands have ministered to my needs, and to those who were with me.
35 “I have shown you all things; how that in so doing you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 And when he had spoken this, he kneeled down and prayed with them all.
37 Then they all wept abundantly, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,
38 being most tormented by the words he spoke of seeing his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
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