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 Goes to Macedonia and Greece

20 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers[a] and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia. While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia.

Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. After the Passover[b] ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.

Paul’s Final Visit to Troas

On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper.[c] Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight. The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps. As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. 10 Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!” 11 Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper,[d] and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. 12 Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.

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[e] 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[f] 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,[g] 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[h]—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.[i] 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. 37 They all cried as they embraced and kissed him good-bye. 38 They were sad most of all because he had said that they would never see him again. Then they escorted him down to the ship.

Footnotes

  1. 20:1 Greek disciples.
  2. 20:6 Greek the days of unleavened bread.
  3. 20:7 Greek to break bread.
  4. 20:11 Greek broke the bread.
  5. 20:15 Some manuscripts read and having stayed at Trogyllium.
  6. 20:22 Or by my spirit, or by an inner compulsion; Greek reads by the spirit.
  7. 20:26 Greek I am innocent of the blood of all.
  8. 20:28a Or with the blood of his own [Son].
  9. 20:28b Or overseers, or bishops.