Acts 20 Bible in Basic English
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.
1 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, took leave of them, and departed to go into Macedonia.
2 And when he had gone through those parts and given them much teaching, he came into Greece.
2 When he had gone through those parts and had encouraged them with many words, 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.
3 When he had spent three months there, and a plot was made against him by Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return 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.
4 These accompanied him as far as Asia: Sopater of Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, Gaius of Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.
5 But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas.
5 But these had gone ahead, 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.
6 We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas in five days, where we stayed 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.
7 On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day; and continued his speech until midnight.
8 And there were a number of lights in the room where we had come together.
8 There were many lights in the upper room where we were gathered 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.
9 A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down 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.
10 Paul went down and fell upon him, and embracing him said, “Don’t 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.
11 When he had gone up, had broken bread and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even until break of day, he departed.
12 And they took the boy in, living, and were greatly comforted.
12 They brought the boy in alive, 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.
13 But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there; for he had so arranged, intending himself to go by land.
14 And when he came up with us at Assos, we took him in the ship and went on to Mitylene.
14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and came 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.
15 Sailing from there, we came the following day opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium, and the day after we came 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.
16 For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the rulers of the church.
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to himself the elders of the assembly.
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,
18 When they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time,
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:
19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews;
20 And how I kept back nothing which might be of profit to you, teaching you publicly and privately,
20 how I didn’t shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house,
21 Preaching to Jews and to Greeks the need for a turning of the heart to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus.
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:
22 Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there;
23 Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me.
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait 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.
24 But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to 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.
25 “Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God’s Kingdom, will see my face no more.
26 And so I say to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all men.
26 Therefore I testify to you today 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.
27 for I didn’t shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel 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.
28 Take heed, therefore, to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.
29 I am conscious that after I am gone, evil wolves will come in among you, doing damage to the flock;
29 For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 And from among yourselves will come men who will give wrong teaching, turning away the disciples after them.
30 Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw 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.
31 Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears.
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.
32 Now, brothers, I entrust you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
33 I have had no desire for any man's silver or gold or clothing.
33 I coveted no one’s silver, 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.
34 You yourselves know that these hands served my necessities, 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.
35 In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 And having said these words, he went down on his knees in prayer with them all.
36 When he had spoken these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
37 And they were all weeping, falling on Paul's neck and kissing him,
37 They all wept freely, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed 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.
38 sorrowing most of all because of the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. Then they accompanied 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
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
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
Pyrrhus
Secundus
Sopater
A man from Berea, son of Pyrrhus, who accompanied Paul into Asia.
Cited in the guide: Acts 20:4
Trophimus
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
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
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
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
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 2 Corinthians 7:5; Acts 19:21; 1 Timothy 1:3; Genesis 48:10; Romans 16:16
- 2 1 Thessalonians 4:1; Colossians 1:28; 1 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Thessalonians 2:11; Acts 20:11
- 3 Acts 20:19; 2 Corinthians 11:26; Acts 9:23–24; Acts 25:3; 2 Corinthians 7:5
- 4 Acts 19:29; Ephesians 6:21; 2 Timothy 4:20; Acts 16:1; Acts 21:29
- 5 Acts 16:8; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Acts 16:10–11; 2 Timothy 4:13; Acts 20:6–8
- 6 Acts 12:3; Exodus 12:14–15; Acts 16:12; Exodus 23:15; 2 Timothy 4:13
- 7 1 Corinthians 16:2; Acts 2:42; John 20:19; John 20:1; Revelation 1:10
- 8 Acts 1:13; Luke 22:12
- 9 Mark 13:36; Matthew 26:40–41; Mark 9:26; Jonah 1:5–6; Acts 14:19
- 10 Mark 5:39; John 11:40; Matthew 9:23–24; John 11:11; 1 Kings 17:21–22
- 11 Acts 20:7; Acts 20:9
- 12 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Isaiah 40:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:2
- 13 Mark 6:46; Mark 1:35; Mark 6:31–33
- 15 2 Timothy 4:20; Acts 20:17
- 16 1 Corinthians 16:8; Acts 2:1; Acts 19:21; Acts 20:6; Acts 18:21
- 17 1 Timothy 5:17; Acts 11:30; Titus 1:5; Acts 20:28; James 5:14
- 18 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; Acts 19:1; Acts 18:19; Acts 19:10; 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9
- 19 Colossians 3:24; 2 Corinthians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 4:7–11; Romans 12:11; Acts 20:3
- 20 Acts 20:27; 2 Timothy 4:2; Acts 5:42; Acts 20:31; Colossians 1:28
- 21 Acts 2:38; 1 John 5:11–13; Acts 11:18; Luke 13:3; Luke 24:47
- 22 James 4:14; 2 Corinthians 5:14; Luke 18:31–33; 2 Peter 1:14; Luke 9:51
- 23 Acts 9:16; Acts 21:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; Acts 14:22; Acts 21:33
- 24 2 Timothy 4:6–8; 2 Corinthians 12:10; 2 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Acts 21:13
- 25 Acts 28:31; Acts 20:38; Matthew 4:23; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7
- 26 Acts 18:6; John 12:17; Ezekiel 3:18–21; Ezekiel 33:2–9; 1 Thessalonians 2:10–12
- 27 Acts 20:20; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Galatians 4:16; Jeremiah 23:22
- 28 1 Peter 5:2–3; 1 Timothy 4:16; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Isaiah 40:11; 1 Timothy 3:2
- 29 Matthew 7:15; 2 Peter 2:1; Luke 10:3; Acts 20:28; John 10:12
- 30 1 Timothy 1:19–20; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; Proverbs 23:33; 1 John 2:19; Proverbs 19:1
- 31 Acts 19:8; Acts 19:10; Acts 20:19; Ezekiel 3:17–20; Hebrews 13:17
- 32 Colossians 1:12; Ephesians 1:14; Acts 26:18; Colossians 3:24; Ephesians 1:18
- 33 2 Corinthians 11:9; 1 Corinthians 9:12; 1 Corinthians 9:18; 2 Corinthians 7:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:5
- 34 Acts 18:3; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:8–9; Acts 19:22; 1 Thessalonians 2:9
- 35 Hebrews 13:16; Proverbs 19:17; 2 Corinthians 9:6–12; Luke 14:12–14; Matthew 10:8
- 36 Acts 21:5; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; Philippians 4:6; Daniel 6:10
- 37 2 Timothy 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 2 Corinthians 13:12; Luke 15:20; 1 Corinthians 16:20
- 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).
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)
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 …
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)
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)
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)