Acts 20
1599 Geneva Bible
20 1 Paul appointed to go to Macedonia: 7 In Troas preaching until midnight, 9 Eutychus fell down dead out of a window, 10 he raised him to life: 15 At Miletus, 17 Having called the Elders of Ephesus together, 23 he declareth what things shall come upon himself, 28 and others.
1 Now [a]after the tumult was appeased, Paul called the disciples unto him, and embraced them, and departed to go into Macedonia.
2 And when he had gone through those parts, and had exhorted them with [b]many words, he came into Greece.
3 [c]And having tarried there three months, because the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.
4 And there accompanied him into Asia, Sopater of Berea, and of them of Thessalonica, Aristarchus, and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and of them of Asia, Tychicus, and Trophimus.
5 These went before, and tarried us at Troas.
6 And we sailed forth from Philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven days.
7 [d]And the [e]first day of the week, the disciples being come together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued the preaching unto midnight.
8 [f]And there were many lights in an upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
9 And there sat in a window a certain young man, named Eutychus, fallen into a dead sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he overcome with sleep, fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
10 But Paul went down, and laid himself upon him, and embraced him, saying, Trouble not yourselves: for his life is in him.
11 Then when Paul was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, having spoken a long while till the dawning of the day, he so departed.
12 And they brought the boy alive, and they were not a little comforted.
13 ¶ Then we went before to ship, and sailed unto the city Assos, that we might receive Paul there: for so had he appointed, and would himself go afoot.
14 Now when he was come unto us to Assos, and we had received him, we 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: the next day we came to Miletus.
16 [g]For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted to be, if he could possible, at Jerusalem, at the day of Pentecost.
17 ¶ Wherefore from [h]Miletus, he sent to Ephesus, and called the Elders of the Church.
18 [i]Who 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 modesty, and with many tears, and temptations, which came unto me by the layings await of the Jews,
20 And how I kept [j]back nothing that was profitable, but have showed you, and taught you openly and throughout every house.
21 Witnessing both to the Jews, and to the Grecians the repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 [k]And now behold, I go [l]bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, and know not what things shall come unto me there,
23 Save that the holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me.
24 But I pass not at all, neither is my life dear unto myself, so that I may fulfill my course with joy, and the ministration which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.
25 And now behold, I know that henceforth ye all, through 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 [m]pure from the blood of all men.
27 [n]For I have kept nothing back, but have showed you all the counsel of God.
28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, whereof the holy Ghost hath made you Overseers to [o]feed the Church of God which [p]he hath purchased with [q]that his own blood.
29 [r]For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Moreover of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things, to [s]draw disciples after them.
31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone, both night and day with tears.
32 [t]And now brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build further, and to give you an [u]inheritance, among all them, which are sanctified.
33 [v]I have coveted no man’s silver, nor gold, nor apparel.
34 Yea, ye know, that these hands have ministered unto my (A)necessities, and to them that were with me.
35 I have showed you all things, how that so laboring, ye ought to [w]support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how that he said, It is a blessed thing to give, rather than to receive.
36 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.
37 [x]Then they wept all abundantly, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,
38 Being chiefly sorry for the words which he spake, That they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.
Footnotes
- Acts 20:1 Paul departed from Ephesus by the consent of the Church, not to be idle or at rest, but to take pains in another place.
- Acts 20:2 For after so great trouble there was need of a long exhortation.
- Acts 20:3 A froward zeal is the guider and instructor to murders: and we are not debarred by the wisdom of God to prevent the endeavors of wicked men.
- Acts 20:7 Assemblies in the nighttime cannot be justly condemned, neither ought, when the cause is good.
- Acts 20:7 Word for word, the first day of the Sabbath, that is upon the Lord’s day: so that by this place, and by 1 Cor. 16:2, it is not amiss gathered, that in those days the Christians were wont to assemble themselves solemnly together upon that day.
- Acts 20:8 The devil minding to trouble the Church with a great offense, giveth Paul a singular occasion to confirm the Gospel.
- Acts 20:16 Paul an earnest and diligent follower of Christ, making haste to his bonds without any ceasing or stopping in his race, doth first of all as it were make his testament, wherein he giveth an account of his former life, defendeth the doctrine which he taught, and exhorteth the Pastors of the Church to persevere and go forward with continuance in their office.
- Acts 20:17 According as the situation of these places is set forth, that distance between Ephesus and Miletus was about 400 furlongs, which maketh almost fifty Dutch miles.
- Acts 20:18 A lively image of a true pastor.
- Acts 20:20 I refrained not to speak, neither dissembled in any respect whatsoever, either for fear or lucre’s sake.
- Acts 20:22 He testifieth that he goeth to his bonds by the commandment of God.
- Acts 20:22 He calleth that motion of the holy Ghost, which forced him to take his journey to Jerusalem, the bond of the Sprit, whom he followed with all his heart.
- Acts 20:26 If you do perish, yet there shall be no fault in me, see Acts 18:6.
- Acts 20:27 The doctrine of the Apostles is most perfect and absolute.
- Acts 20:28 To keep it, to feed it, and govern it.
- Acts 20:28 A notable sentence for Christ’s Godhead: which showeth plainly in his person, how that by reason of the joining together of the two natures in his own person, that which is proper to one is spoken of the other being taken in the derivative, and not in the primitive: which in old time the godly fathers termed a communicating or fellowship of proprieties, that is to say, a making common of that to two, which belongeth but to one.
- Acts 20:28 This word, That showeth the excellency of this blood.
- Acts 20:29 A prophecy of pastors that should straightway degenerate into wolves against such as boast and brag only of a succession of persons.
- Acts 20:30 This is a great misery, to want the presence of such a shepherd, but greater to have wolves enter in.
- Acts 20:32 The power of God, and his free promises revealed in his word, are the props and upholders of the ministry of the Gospel.
- Acts 20:32 As children, and therefore of free love and good will.
- Acts 20:33 Pastors must before all things beware of covetousness.
- Acts 20:35 As it were by reaching out the hand to them, which otherwise are about to slip and fall away, and so to stay them.
- Acts 20:37 The Gospel doth not take away natural affections, but ruleth and bridleth them in good order.
Acts 20
New Living Translation
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. 2 While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, 3 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.
4 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. 5 They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 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
7 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. 8 The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps. 9 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
- 20:1 Greek disciples.
- 20:6 Greek the days of unleavened bread.
- 20:7 Greek to break bread.
- 20:11 Greek broke the bread.
- 20:15 Some manuscripts read and having stayed at Trogyllium.
- 20:22 Or by my spirit, or by an inner compulsion; Greek reads by the spirit.
- 20:26 Greek I am innocent of the blood of all.
- 20:28a Or with the blood of his own [Son].
- 20:28b Or overseers, or bishops.
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