Acts 20:17-38

GOD’S WORD Translation

Paul Meets with the Spiritual Leaders from Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus Paul sent messengers to the city of Ephesus and called the spiritual leaders ^[a] of the church to meet with him ⌞in Miletus⌟. ¹⁸ When they were with him, he said to them, “You know how I spent all my time with you from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I humbly served the Lord, often with tears in my eyes. I served the Lord during the difficult times I went through when the Jews plotted against me. ²⁰ I didn’t avoid telling you anything that would help you, and I didn’t avoid teaching you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I warned Jews and Greeks to change the way they think and act and to believe in our Lord Jesus.

²² “I am determined to go to Jerusalem now. I don’t know what will happen to me there. ²³ However, the Holy Spirit warns me in every city that imprisonment and suffering are waiting for me. ²⁴ But I don’t place any value on my own life. I want to finish the race I’m running. I want to carry out the mission I received from the Lord Jesus—the mission of testifying to the Good News of God’s kindness.^[b]

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you whom I told about God’s kingdom will see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am not responsible for the ⌞spiritual⌟ death of any of you. ²⁷ I didn’t avoid telling you the whole plan of God. ²⁸ Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to be shepherds for God’s church which he acquired with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that fierce wolves will come to you after I leave, and they won’t spare the flock. ³⁰ Some of your own men will come forward and say things that distort the truth. They will do this to lure disciples into following them. ³¹ So be alert! Remember that I instructed each of you for three years, day and night, at times with tears in my eyes.

³² “I am now entrusting you to God and to his message that tells how kind he is. That message can help you grow and can give you the inheritance that is shared by all of God’s holy people.

³³ “I never wanted anyone’s silver, gold, or clothes. ³⁴ You know that I worked to support myself and those who were with me. ³⁵ I have given you an example that by working hard like this we should help the weak. We should remember the words that the Lord Jesus said, ‘Giving gifts is more satisfying than receiving them.’ ”

³⁶ When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down and prayed with all of them. ³⁷ Everyone cried a lot as they put their arms around Paul and kissed him. ³⁸ The thought of not seeing Paul again hurt them most of all. Then they took Paul to the ship.