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Acts 20:13-36
New International Version
Acts 20:13-36
New International Version
Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.(A) 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus(B) to avoid spending time in the province of Asia,(C) for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem,(D) if possible, by the day of Pentecost.(E)
17 From Miletus,(F) Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders(G) of the church. 18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you,(H) from the first day I came into the province of Asia.(I) 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears(J) and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.(K) 20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything(L) that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. 21 I have declared to both Jews(M) and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance(N) and have faith in our Lord Jesus.(O)
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem,(P) not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me(Q) that prison and hardships are facing me.(R) 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me;(S) my only aim is to finish the race(T) and complete the task(U) the Lord Jesus has given me(V)—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.(W)
25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom(X) will ever see me again.(Y) 26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.(Z) 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.(AA) 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock(AB) of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.(AC) Be shepherds of the church of God,[a](AD) which he bought(AE) with his own blood.[b](AF) 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves(AG) will come in among you and will not spare the flock.(AH) 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples(AI) after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years(AJ) I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.(AK)
32 “Now I commit you to God(AL) and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance(AM) among all those who are sanctified.(AN) 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.(AO) 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.(AP) 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.(AQ)
Footnotes
- Acts 20:28 Many manuscripts of the Lord
- Acts 20:28 Or with the blood of his own Son
Acts 20:13-36
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Acts 20:13-36
Holman Christian Standard Bible
From Troas to Miletus
13 Then we went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there. For these were his instructions, since he himself was going by land. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios. The following day we crossed over to Samos, and[a] the day after, we came to Miletus.(A) 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so he would not have to spend time in Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, for the day of Pentecost.(B)
Farewell Address to the Ephesian Elders
17 Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time(C)— 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews(D)— 20 and that I did not shrink back from proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching it to you in public and from house to house. 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God(E) and faith in our Lord Jesus.(F)
22 “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit,[b] not knowing what I will encounter there,(G) 23 except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.(H) 24 But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course[c] and the ministry(I) I received from the Lord Jesus,(J) to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “And now I know that none of you will ever see my face again—everyone I went about preaching the kingdom to. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent[d] of everyone’s blood,(K) 27 for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God.(L) 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock(M) that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers,(N) to shepherd the church of God,[e] which He purchased with His own blood.(O) 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them.(P) 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.(Q)
32 “And now[f] I commit you to God and to the message of His grace,(R) which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance(S) among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.(T) 34 You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and for those who were with me.(U) 35 In every way I’ve shown you that by laboring like this, it is necessary to help the weak and to keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, for He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them.(V)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 20:15 Other mss add after staying at Trogyllium
- Acts 20:22 Or in the Spirit
- Acts 20:24 Other mss add with joy
- Acts 20:26 Lit clean
- Acts 20:28 Other mss read church of the Lord; other mss read church of the Lord and God
- Acts 20:32 Other mss add brothers,
Acts 20:13-36
New Living Translation
Acts 20:13-36
New Living Translation
Paul Meets the Ephesian Elders
13 Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. 14 He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene. 15 The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and[a] a day later we arrived at Miletus.
16 Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost. 17 But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.
18 When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now 19 I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. 21 I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now I am bound by the Spirit[b] to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
25 “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. 26 I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault,[c] 27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.
28 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood[d]—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.[e] 29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.
32 “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.
33 “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. 34 You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. 35 And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them.
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Acts 20:13-36
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Acts 20:13-36
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Voyage from Troas to Miletus
13 We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there, for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself. 14 When he met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 We sailed from there, and on the following day we arrived opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos, and[a] the day after that we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.(A)
Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders
17 From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him.(B) 18 When they came to him, he said to them:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,(C) 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. 20 I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house,(D) 21 as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus.[b](E) 22 And now, as a captive to the Spirit,[c] I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,(F) 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me.(G) 24 But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.(H)
25 “And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again.(I) 26 Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,(J) 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.(K) 28 Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God[d] that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.[e](L) 29 I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.(M) 30 Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears.(N) 32 And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified.(O) 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing.(P) 34 You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions.(Q) 35 In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”(R)
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed.(S)
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Acts 20:13-36
King James Version
Acts 20:13-36
King James Version
13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene.
15 And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus.
16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:
20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,
21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.
35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye 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 thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.
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Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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New Living Translation (NLT)
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New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
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