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Acts · Bible in Basic English

Acts 20 Bible in Basic English

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About BBE
  • Scholarly edition
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew (not verified)
  • NT: Critical text (not verified)
  • Protestant (66 books)
  • Simplified language
  • 1965
  • Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

1 And after the noise had come to an end, Paul, having sent for the disciples and given them comfort, went away from them to Macedonia. 2 And when he had gone through those parts and given them much teaching, he came into Greece. 3 And when he had been there three months, because the Jews had made a secret design against him when he was about to take ship for Syria, he made a decision to go back through Macedonia. 4 And Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus, and Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia, went with him as far as Asia. 5 But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas. 6 And we went away from Philippi by ship after the days of unleavened bread, and came to them at Troas in five days; and we were there for seven days. 7 And on the first day of the week, when we had come together for the holy meal, Paul gave them a talk, for it was his purpose to go away on the day after; and he went on talking till after the middle of the night. 8 And there were a number of lights in the room where we had come together. 9 And a certain young man named Eutychus, who was seated in the window, went into a deep sleep; and while Paul went on talking, being overcome by sleep, he had a fall from the third floor, and was taken up dead. 10 And Paul went down and, falling on him, took him in his arms and said, Do not be troubled, for his life is in him. 11 And when he had gone up, and had taken the broken bread, he went on talking to them for a long time, even till dawn, and then he went away. 12 And they took the boy in, living, and were greatly comforted. 13 But we, going before him by ship, went to Assos with the purpose of taking Paul in there: for so he had given orders, because he himself was coming by land. 14 And when he came up with us at Assos, we took him in the ship and went on to Mitylene. 15 And going from there by sea, we came on the day after opposite Chios, and touching at Samos on the day after that, we came on the third day to Miletus. 16 For Paul's purpose was to go past Ephesus, so that he might not be kept in Asia; for he was going quickly, in order, if possible, to be at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. 17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the rulers of the church. 18 And when they had come, he said to them, You yourselves have seen what my life has been like all the time from the day when I first came into Asia, 19 Doing the Lord's work without pride, through all the sorrow and troubles which came on me because of the evil designs of the Jews: 20 And how I kept back nothing which might be of profit to you, teaching you publicly and privately, 21 Preaching to Jews and to Greeks the need for a turning of the heart to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, as you see, I am going to Jerusalem, a prisoner in spirit, having no knowledge of what will come to me there: 23 Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me. 24 But I put no value on my life, if only at the end of it I may see the work complete which was given to me by the Lord Jesus, to be a witness of the good news of the grace of God. 25 And now I am conscious that you, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom, will not see my face again. 26 And so I say to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all men. 27 For I have not kept back from you anything of the purpose of God. 28 Give attention to yourselves, and to all the flock which the Holy Spirit has given into your care, to give food to the church of God, for which he gave his blood. 29 I am conscious that after I am gone, evil wolves will come in among you, doing damage to the flock; 30 And from among yourselves will come men who will give wrong teaching, turning away the disciples after them. 31 So keep watch, having in mind that for three years without resting I was teaching every one of you, day and night, with weeping. 32 And now, I give you into the care of God and the word of his grace, which is able to make you strong and to give you your heritage among all the saints. 33 I have had no desire for any man's silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves have seen that with these hands I got what was necessary for me and those who were with me. 35 In all things I was an example to you of how, in your lives, you are to give help to the feeble, and keep in memory the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, There is a greater blessing in giving than in getting. 36 And having said these words, he went down on his knees in prayer with them all. 37 And they were all weeping, falling on Paul's neck and kissing him, 38 Being sad most of all because he had said that they would not see his face again. And so they went with him to the ship.

People & places in this chapter

From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.

People

  • Aristarchus

    Macedonian companion of Paul

    A Thessalonian who traveled with Paul, was seized in the Ephesus riot, sailed with him to Rome, and is called Paul's fellow prisoner.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 19:29; Acts 20:4; Acts 27:2

  • Eutychus

    Young man at Troas

    A young man who fell asleep during Paul's long talk, fell from a third-story window, and was taken up dead; Paul embraced him and he was restored alive.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 20:9

  • Gaius

    Companion from Derbe

    A man of Derbe who accompanied Paul into Asia.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 20:4

  • Pyrrhus

    Father of Sopater

    Named only as the father of Sopater of Berea.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 20:4

  • Secundus

    Companion from Thessalonica

    A Thessalonian who accompanied Paul into Asia.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 20:4

  • Sopater

    Companion from Berea

    A man from Berea, son of Pyrrhus, who accompanied Paul into Asia.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 20:4

  • Trophimus

    Ephesian companion of Paul

    An Ephesian who accompanied Paul; Jews at Jerusalem falsely claimed Paul had brought him into the temple, and Paul later left him sick at Miletus.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 20:4; Acts 21:29; 2 Timothy 4:20

  • Tychicus

    Companion and messenger of Paul

    A man from Asia who traveled with Paul; Paul calls him a beloved brother and faithful servant and sent him with letters to Ephesus, Colossae, and elsewhere.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 20:4; Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7

Places

  • Ephesus

    Today: Western Turkey (Aegean coast) · On Second Journey · On Third Journey

    The chief city of Roman Asia, famed for the temple of Artemis. Paul's long ministry sparked the silversmiths' riot; the city is also the first addressed in Revelation.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 19:1; Acts 19:28; Revelation 2:1

  • Jerusalem

    Today: Israel / Palestinian territories · On Third Journey

    Set high in the Judean hills (~2,500 ft), Jerusalem was David's royal city, the site of the First and Second Temples, and the stage for Jesus' passion and the church's birth at Pentecost.

    Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 5:6-9; Luke 19:41; Acts 1:8

  • Philippi

    Today: Northern Greece (Macedonia) · On Second Journey · On Third Journey

    A Roman colony on the Via Egnatia and the site of Paul's first European converts — a beloved church to which he later wrote from prison.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 16:12; Acts 16:25; Philippians 1:1

  • Miletus
Cross references (37)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

  1. 1 2 Corinthians 7:5; Acts 19:21; 1 Timothy 1:3; Genesis 48:10; Romans 16:16
  2. 2 1 Thessalonians 4:1; Colossians 1:28; 1 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Thessalonians 2:11; Acts 20:11
  3. 3 Acts 20:19; 2 Corinthians 11:26; Acts 9:23–24; Acts 25:3; 2 Corinthians 7:5
  4. 4 Acts 19:29; Ephesians 6:21; 2 Timothy 4:20; Acts 16:1; Acts 21:29
  5. 5 Acts 16:8; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Acts 16:10–11; 2 Timothy 4:13; Acts 20:6–8
  6. 6 Acts 12:3; Exodus 12:14–15; Acts 16:12; Exodus 23:15; 2 Timothy 4:13
  7. 7 1 Corinthians 16:2; Acts 2:42; John 20:19; John 20:1; Revelation 1:10
  8. 8 Acts 1:13; Luke 22:12
  9. 9 Mark 13:36; Matthew 26:40–41; Mark 9:26; Jonah 1:5–6; Acts 14:19
  10. 10 Mark 5:39; John 11:40; Matthew 9:23–24; John 11:11; 1 Kings 17:21–22
  11. 11 Acts 20:7; Acts 20:9
  12. 12 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Isaiah 40:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:2
  13. 13 Mark 6:46; Mark 1:35; Mark 6:31–33
  14. 15 2 Timothy 4:20; Acts 20:17
  15. 16 1 Corinthians 16:8; Acts 2:1; Acts 19:21; Acts 20:6; Acts 18:21
  16. 17 1 Timothy 5:17; Acts 11:30; Titus 1:5; Acts 20:28; James 5:14
  17. 18 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; Acts 19:1; Acts 18:19; Acts 19:10; 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9
  18. 19 Colossians 3:24; 2 Corinthians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 4:7–11; Romans 12:11; Acts 20:3
  19. 20 Acts 20:27; 2 Timothy 4:2; Acts 5:42; Acts 20:31; Colossians 1:28
  20. 21 Acts 2:38; 1 John 5:11–13; Acts 11:18; Luke 13:3; Luke 24:47
  21. 22 James 4:14; 2 Corinthians 5:14; Luke 18:31–33; 2 Peter 1:14; Luke 9:51
  22. 23 Acts 9:16; Acts 21:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; Acts 14:22; Acts 21:33
  23. 24 2 Timothy 4:6–8; 2 Corinthians 12:10; 2 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Acts 21:13
  24. 25 Acts 28:31; Acts 20:38; Matthew 4:23; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7
  25. 26 Acts 18:6; John 12:17; Ezekiel 3:18–21; Ezekiel 33:2–9; 1 Thessalonians 2:10–12
  26. 27 Acts 20:20; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Galatians 4:16; Jeremiah 23:22
  27. 28 1 Peter 5:2–3; 1 Timothy 4:16; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Isaiah 40:11; 1 Timothy 3:2
  28. 29 Matthew 7:15; 2 Peter 2:1; Luke 10:3; Acts 20:28; John 10:12
  29. 30 1 Timothy 1:19–20; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; Proverbs 23:33; 1 John 2:19; Proverbs 19:1
  30. 31 Acts 19:8; Acts 19:10; Acts 20:19; Ezekiel 3:17–20; Hebrews 13:17
  31. 32 Colossians 1:12; Ephesians 1:14; Acts 26:18; Colossians 3:24; Ephesians 1:18
  32. 33 2 Corinthians 11:9; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 1 Corinthians 9:18; 2 Corinthians 7:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:5
  33. 34 Acts 18:3; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:8–9; Acts 19:22; 1 Thessalonians 2:9
  34. 35 Hebrews 13:16; Proverbs 19:17; 2 Corinthians 9:6–12; Luke 14:12–14; Matthew 10:8
  35. 36 Acts 21:5; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; Philippians 4:6; Daniel 6:10
  36. 37 2 Timothy 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 2 Corinthians 13:12; Luke 15:20; 1 Corinthians 16:20
  37. 38 Acts 15:3; Acts 20:25; 1 Corinthians 16:11; Acts 21:16; Acts 21:5

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

  1. Commentary 20:1 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles (Homily XLIII)

    There was need of much comforting after that uproar. Accordingly, having done this, he goes into Macedonia, and then into Greece. For, it says, "when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, and there abode three months.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)

  2. Quotes verse 20:35 Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians (Chapters I–VI)

    Moreover, ye were all distinguished by humility, and were in no respect puffed up with pride, but yielded obedience rather than extorted it, and were more willing to give than to receive. Content with the provision which God had made for you, and carefully attending to His words, ye were inwardly filled with His doctrine, and His sufferings were before …

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)

  3. Quotes verse 20:31 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily VI)

    Therefore also with regard to Paul, that he wept, that he did so three years night and day, both he hath said of himself, and others say this of him; but that he laughed, neither hath he said himself anywhere, neither hath so much as one other of the saints, either concerning him, or any other like him; but this …

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)

  4. Quotes verse 20:29 Basil of Caesarea, Hexaemeron (Homily II)

    From this what perverse and impious dogmas have been imagined! What grievous wolves, tearing the flock of the Lord, have sprung from these words to cast themselves upon souls!

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 8 (1895)

  5. Quotes verse 20:30 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily LIX)

    Declaring this, Paul said, "Without were fightings, within were fears;" and, "In perils among false brethren;" and in his discourse to the Milesians too He said, "Also of you shall some arise speaking perverse things;" and He Himself too said, "The man's foes shall be they of his own household." But when He said, "It must needs be," it is …

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)