Paul in Macedonia and Greece

20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for (A)the disciples, and when he had [a]encouraged them and taken his leave of them, he left (B)to go to (C)Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much [b]encouragement, he came to Greece. And there he spent three months, and when (D)a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for (E)Syria, he decided to return through (F)Macedonia. And [c]he was accompanied by Sopater of (G)Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by (H)Aristarchus and Secundus of the (I)Thessalonians, and (J)Gaius of (K)Derbe, and (L)Timothy, and (M)Tychicus and (N)Trophimus of [d](O)Asia. Now these had gone on ahead and were waiting for (P)us at (Q)Troas. (R)We sailed from (S)Philippi after [e](T)the days of Unleavened Bread, and reached them at (U)Troas within five days; and we stayed there for seven days.

On (V)the first day of the week, when (W)we were gathered together to (X)break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his [f]message until midnight. There were many (Y)lamps in the (Z)upstairs room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named [g]Eutychus sitting [h]on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and (AA)fell upon him, and after embracing him, he (AB)said, “[i]Do not be troubled, for [j]he is still alive.” 11 When Paul had gone back up and had (AC)broken the bread and [k]eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12 They took away the boy alive, and were [l]greatly comforted.

Troas to Miletus

13 But (AD)we went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for that was what he had arranged, intending himself to go [m]by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day we came to (AE)Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past (AF)Ephesus so that he would not have to lose time in [n](AG)Asia; for he was hurrying, if it might be possible for him (AH)to be in Jerusalem (AI)the day of Pentecost.

Farewell to Ephesus

17 From Miletus he sent word to (AJ)Ephesus and called to himself (AK)the elders of the church. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, (AL)from the first day that I set foot in [o]Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and trials which came upon me [p]through (AM)the plots of the Jews; 20 how I (AN)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was beneficial, and teaching you publicly and [q]from house to house, 21 solemnly (AO)testifying to both Jews and Greeks of (AP)repentance toward God and (AQ)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, bound by the [r]Spirit, (AR)I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that (AS)the Holy Spirit solemnly (AT)testifies to me in every city, saying that (AU)chains and afflictions await me. 24 But (AV)I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may (AW)finish my course and (AX)the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to (AY)testify solemnly of the gospel of (AZ)God’s grace.

25 “And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about (BA)preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. 26 Therefore, I [s]testify to you this day that (BB)I am [t]innocent of the blood of all people. 27 For I (BC)did not shrink from declaring to you the whole (BD)purpose of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all (BE)the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you [u]overseers, to shepherd (BF)the church of God which (BG)He [v]purchased [w]with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure (BH)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing (BI)the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away (BJ)the disciples after them. 31 Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of (BK)three years I did not cease to admonish each one (BL)with tears. 32 And now I (BM)entrust you to God and to (BN)the word of His grace, which is able to (BO)build you up and to give you (BP)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 (BQ)I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that (BR)these hands served my own needs and the (BS)men who were with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

36 When he had said these things, he (BT)knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And [x]they all began to weep aloud and [y](BU)embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38 [z]grieving especially over (BV)the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were (BW)accompanying him to the ship.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 20:1 Or exhorted
  2. Acts 20:2 Or exhortation
  3. Acts 20:4 Lit there accompanied him
  4. Acts 20:4 I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
  5. Acts 20:6 I.e., Passover week
  6. Acts 20:7 Lit word, speech
  7. Acts 20:9 Eutychus means good fortune; i.e., “Lucky”
  8. Acts 20:9 Or at the window
  9. Acts 20:10 Or Stop being troubled
  10. Acts 20:10 Lit his soul is in him
  11. Acts 20:11 Lit tasted
  12. Acts 20:12 Lit not moderately
  13. Acts 20:13 Or on foot
  14. Acts 20:16 I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
  15. Acts 20:18 See note v 16
  16. Acts 20:19 Lit by
  17. Acts 20:20 Or in the various private homes
  18. Acts 20:22 Or in spirit
  19. Acts 20:26 Or call you to witness
  20. Acts 20:26 Lit pure from
  21. Acts 20:28 Or bishops
  22. Acts 20:28 Lit acquired
  23. Acts 20:28 Lit through
  24. Acts 20:37 Lit a considerable weeping of all occurred
  25. Acts 20:37 Lit threw themselves on Paul’s neck
  26. Acts 20:38 Lit suffering pain

Paul’s Trip to Macedonia and Greece

20 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. Then he said goodbye to them and left to go to Macedonia. He went through those regions and encouraged the people[a] with everything he had to say. Then he went to Greece and stayed there for three months. When he was about to sail for Syria, a plot was initiated against him by the Jews, so he decided to go back through Macedonia. He was accompanied by Sopater (the son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. These men went on ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. After the Festival[b] of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi, and days later we joined them in Troas and stayed there for seven days.

Paul’s Farewell Visit to Troas

On the first day of the week, when we had met to break bread, Paul began to address the people.[c] Since he intended to leave the next day, he went on speaking until midnight. Now there were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in a window, began to sink off into a deep sleep as Paul kept speaking longer and longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down, bent over[d] him, took him into his arms, and said, “Stop being alarmed, because he’s still alive.” 11 Then he went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. He talked with them for a long time, until dawn, and then left. 12 They took the young man away alive and were greatly relieved.

Paul’s Trip to Miletus

13 We proceeded to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we intended to pick up Paul. He had arranged it this way, since he had planned to travel there on foot. 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 arrived off Chios. The next day, we crossed over to Samos and stayed at Trogyllium.[e] The day after that, we came to Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in Asia, as he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.

Paul Meets with the Ephesian Elders

17 From Miletus he sent messengers[f] to Ephesus to ask the elders of the church to meet with him. 18 When they came to him, he told them, “You know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day I set foot in Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. 20 I never shrank from telling you anything that would help you nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus.[g] 22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that in town after town the Holy Spirit assures me that imprisonment and suffering are waiting for me. 24 But I don’t place any value on my life, if only I can finish my race and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I traveled preaching about the kingdom will ever see my face again. 26 I therefore declare to you today that I’m not responsible for the blood of any of you, 27 because I never shrank from telling you the whole plan of God. 28 Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to be shepherds of God’s[h] church, which he acquired with his own blood. 29 I know that when I’m gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. 30 Indeed, some of your own men will arise and distort the truth in order to lure the disciples into following them. 31 So be alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped tearfully warning each of you.

32 “I’m now entrusting you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and secure for you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I never desired anyone’s silver, gold, or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who were with me. 35 In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we should help the weak and remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’[i]

36 When Paul[j] had said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them. 37 All of them cried and cried[k] as they put their arms around Paul and kissed[l] him affectionately. 38 They were especially sorrowful because of what he had said—that they would never see his face again. Then they took him to the ship.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 20:2 Lit. them
  2. Acts 20:6 Lit. days
  3. Acts 20:7 Lit. them
  4. Acts 20:10 Lit. fell on
  5. Acts 20:15 Other mss. lack and stayed at Trogyllium
  6. Acts 20:17 The Gk. lacks messengers
  7. Acts 20:21 Other mss. read Lord Jesus, the Messiah
  8. Acts 20:28 Other mss. read the Lord’s
  9. Acts 20:35 This saying is not recorded in the Gospels.
  10. Acts 20:36 Lit. he
  11. Acts 20:37 Lit. Great crying came to all
  12. Acts 20:37 People customarily greeted their friends with a kiss.