Acts 20 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Once the uproar had died down, Paul called the believers together and encouraged them. Then he said goodbye, and left for Macedonia.
1 Μετὰ δὲ τὸ παύσασθαι τὸν θόρυβον προσκαλεσάμενος ὁ Παῦλος τοὺς μαθητὰς καὶ ἀσπασάμενος ἐξῆλθε πορευθῆναι εἰς Μακεδονίαν.
2 He passed through the area, sharing many words of encouragement with the believers there, and then traveled on to Greece.
2 διελθὼν δὲ τὰ μέρη ἐκεῖνα καὶ παρακαλέσας αὐτοὺς λόγῳ πολλῷ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα·
3 After he had spent three months there and just as he was about to sail to Syria, it was discovered that the Jews were plotting against him. So he decided to return through Macedonia.
3 ποιήσας τε μῆνας τρεῖς, γενομένης αὐτῷ ἐπιβουλῆς ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων μέλλοντι ἀνάγεσθαι εἰς τὴν Συρίαν, ἐγένετο γνώμη τοῦ ὑποστρέφειν διὰ Μακεδονίας.
4 These were the people who traveled with him: Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
4 συνείπετο δὲ αὐτῷ ἄχρι τῆς Ἀσίας Σώπατρος Βεροιαῖος, Θεσσαλονικέων δὲ Ἀρίσταρχος καὶ Σεκοῦνδος, καὶ Γάϊος Δερβαῖος καὶ Τιμόθεος, Ἀσιανοὶ δὲ Τυχικὸς καὶ Τρόφιμος.
5 They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.
5 οὗτοι προελθόντες ἔμενον ἡμᾶς ἐν Τρῳάδι·
6 After the Festival of Unleavened Bread we sailed from Philippi, and met them five days later in Troas, where we spent a week.
6 ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐξεπλεύσαμεν μετὰ τὰς ἡμέρας τῶν ἀζύμων ἀπὸ Φιλίππων καὶ ἤλθομεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν Τρῳάδα ἄχρις ἡμερῶν πέντε, οὗ διετρίψαμεν ἡμέρας ἑπτά.
7 Paul was speaking on the first day of the week as we gathered together to break bread. He was planning to leave in the morning, and went on speaking until midnight.
7 Ἐν δὲ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων συνηγμένων τῶν μαθητῶν κλάσαι ἄρτον, ὁ Παῦλος διελέγετο αὐτοῖς, μέλλων ἐξιέναι τῇ ἐπαύριον, παρέτεινέ τε τὸν λόγον μέχρι μεσονυκτίου.
8 (The upstairs room where we were meeting was lit by many lamps.)
8 ἦσαν δὲ λαμπάδες ἱκαναὶ ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ οὗ ἦμεν συνηγμένοι.
9 A young man called Eutychus was sitting in the window, and he began feeling very sleepy. As Paul went on speaking he fell sound asleep and tumbled down from the third story. When they picked him up they found he was dead.
9 καθήμενος δέ τις νεανίας ὀνόματι Εὔτυχος ἐπὶ τῆς θυρίδος, καταφερόμενος ὕπνῳ βαθεῖ διαλεγομένου τοῦ Παύλου ἐπὶ πλεῖον, κατενεχθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου ἔπεσεν ἀπὸ τοῦ τριστέγου κάτω καὶ ἤρθη νεκρός.
10 Paul went down, stretched himself out upon him, and hugged him. “Don't worry, he's alive,” he said.
10 καταβὰς δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ἐπέπεσεν αὐτῷ καὶ συμπεριλαβὼν εἶπε· μὴ θορυβεῖσθε· ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστιν.
11 Paul went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate together with them. He went on talking with them until dawn came, and then he left.
11 ἀναβὰς δὲ καὶ κλάσας ἄρτον καὶ γευσάμενος, ἐφ᾽ ἱκανόν τε ὁμιλήσας ἄχρις αὐγῆς, οὕτως ἐξῆλθεν.
12 They took the young man home alive and well, and were very thankful for this.
12 ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα, καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos. There we were due to pick up Paul, since that was what he had planned as he decided to travel on foot.
13 Ἡμεῖς δὲ προελθόντες ἐπὶ τὸ πλοῖον ἀνήχθημεν εἰς τὴν Ἄσσον, ἐκεῖθεν μέλλοντες ἀναλαμβάνειν τὸν Παῦλον· οὕτω γὰρ ἦν διατεταγμένος, μέλλων αὐτὸς πεζεύειν.
14 He did indeed meet us at Assos. We picked him up, and went on to Mitylene.
14 ὡς δὲ συνέβαλεν ἡμῖν εἰς τὴν Ἄσσον, ἀναλαβόντες αὐτὸν ἤλθομεν εἰς Μιτυλήνην·
15 Sailing on from there we arrived off Kios, and the next day we stopped briefly at Samos, and the following day we arrived at Miletus.
15 κἀκεῖθεν ἀποπλεύσαντες τῇ ἐπιούσῃ κατηντήσαμεν ἀντικρὺ Χίου, τῇ δὲ ἑτέρᾳ παρεβάλομεν εἰς Σάμον, καὶ μείναντες ἐν Τρωγυλίῳ τῇ ἐχομένῃ ἤλθομεν εἰς Μίλητον.
16 Paul had planned to sail on past Ephesus so he wouldn't have to spend time in the province of Asia. He was keen to get to Jerusalem in time for the Day of Pentecost.
16 ἔκρινε γὰρ ὁ Παῦλος παραπλεῦσαι τὴν Ἔφεσον, ὅπως μὴ γένηται αὐτῷ χρονοτριβῆσαι ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ· ἔσπευδε γάρ, εἰ δυνατὸν ἦν αὐτῷ, τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς γενέσθαι εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα.
17 From Miletus Paul sent a message to the elders of the church in Ephesus.
17 Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Μιλήτου πέμψας εἰς Ἔφεσον μετεκαλέσατο τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τῆς ἐκκλησίας.
18 When they arrived, he told them, “You know how I always behaved while I was with you from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia.
18 ὡς δὲ παρεγένοντο πρὸς αὐτόν, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ὑμεῖς ἐπίστασθε, ἀπὸ πρώτης ἡμέρας ἀφ᾽ ἧς ἐπέβην εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν, πῶς μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν τὸν πάντα χρόνον ἐγενόμην,
19 I served the Lord in humility and in tears. I put up with the troubles and stress caused by the plots of the Jews.
19 δουλεύων τῷ Κυρίῳ μετὰ πάσης ταπεινοφροσύνης καὶ πολλῶν δακρύων καὶ πειρασμῶν τῶν συμβάντων μοι ἐν ταῖς ἐπιβουλαῖς τῶν Ἰουδαίων,
20 However, I never held back from sharing with you anything that would be to your benefit, and I taught you in public, going from house to house.
20 ὡς οὐδὲν ὑπεστειλάμην τῶν συμφερόντων τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι ὑμῖν καὶ διδάξαι ὑμᾶς δημοσίᾳ καὶ κατ᾽ οἴκους,
21 I witnessed both to Jews and Greeks that it was essential to repent and turn to God, and to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.
21 διαμαρτυρόμενος Ἰουδαίοις τε καὶ Ἕλλησι τὴν εἰς [τὸν] Θεὸν μετάνοιαν καὶ πίστιν τὴν εἰς τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν [Χριστόν].
22 Now the Spirit is insisting that I go to Jerusalem, and I have no idea what will happen to me there.
22 καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ δεδεμένος τῷ πνεύματι πορεύομαι εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ, τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ συναντήσοντά μοι μὴ εἰδώς,
23 All I know is that in every city I visit the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and suffering are waiting for me.
23 πλὴν ὅτι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον κατὰ πόλιν διαμαρτύρεται λέγον ὅτι δεσμά με καὶ θλίψεις μένουσιν.
24 But I don't consider my life as worth anything to me. I only want to finish my mission and the ministry that the Lord Jesus gave to me, to witness to the good news of the grace of God.
24 ἀλλ᾽ οὐδενὸς λόγον ποιοῦμαι οὐδὲ ἔχω τὴν ψυχήν μου τιμίαν ἐμαυτῷ, ὡς τελειῶσαι τὸν δρόμον μου μετὰ χαρᾶς καὶ τὴν διακονίαν ἣν ἔλαβον παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ, διαμαρτύρασθαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ.
25 Now I am certain that you will not see my face again, you among whom I shared the news of the kingdom.
25 καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ οἶδα ὅτι οὐκέτι ὄψεσθε τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ὑμεῖς πάντες, ἐν οἷς διῆλθον κηρύσσων τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
26 So I declare to you today that I am not responsible if anyone is lost.
26 διὸ μαρτύρομαι ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ ὅτι καθαρὸς ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος πάντων·
27 I didn't hesitate to tell you everything God wants you to know.
27 οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι ὑμῖν πᾶσαν τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
28 Take care of yourselves and of all the flock, which the Holy Spirit has given to you to supervise. Feed the Lord's church which he bought with his own blood.
28 προσέχετε οὖν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ παντὶ τῷ ποιμνίῳ ἐν ᾧ ὑμᾶς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον ἔθετο ἐπισκόπους, ποιμαίνειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ Θεοῦ, ἣν περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου αἵματος.
29 I know that after I leave vicious wolves will come among you, and won't spare the flock.
29 ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶδα τοῦτο, ὅτι εἰσελεύσονται μετὰ τὴν ἄφιξίν μου λύκοι βαρεῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς μὴ φειδόμενοι τοῦ ποιμνίου·
30 From among your own group men will rise up perverting what is right and good so they can lead believers to follow them.
30 καὶ ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἀναστήσονται ἄνδρες λαλοῦντες διεστραμμένα τοῦ ἀποσπᾶν τοὺς μαθητὰς ὀπίσω αὐτῶν.
31 So watch out! Don't forget that for three years I went on instructing all of you night and day, often crying over you.
31 διὸ γρηγορεῖτε, μνημονεύοντες ὅτι τριετίαν νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην μετὰ δακρύων νουθετῶν ἕνα ἕκαστον.
32 Now I commit you to God's care and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and provide you with the inheritance that belongs to all who are kept right with him.
32 καὶ τὰ νῦν παρατίθεμαι ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ τῷ δυναμένῳ ἐποικοδομῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι ὑμῖν κληρονομίαν ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις πᾶσιν.
33 I never had any desire for anyone's silver or gold or clothing.
33 ἀργυρίου ἢ χρυσίου ἢ ἱματισμοῦ οὐδενὸς ἐπεθύμησα·
34 You know that I worked with my own hands to provide for my own needs, as well as for those who were with me.
34 αὐτοὶ γινώσκετε ὅτι ταῖς χρείαις μου καὶ τοῖς οὖσι μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ὑπηρέτησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὗται.
35 I have given you an example in everything: work to help those who are weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
35 πάντα ὑπέδειξα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὕτω κοπιῶντας δεῖ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων, μνημονεύειν τε τὸν λόγον τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ, ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπε· μακάριόν ἐστι μᾶλλον διδόναι ἢ λαμβάνειν.
36 When he finished speaking, he kneeled down and prayed with all of them.
36 καὶ ταῦτα εἰπών, θεὶς τὰ γόνατα αὐτοῦ σὺν πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς προσηύξατο.
37 They all wept as they hugged and kissed him.
37 ἱκανὸς δὲ ἐγένετο κλαυθμὸς πάντων, καὶ ἐπιπεσόντες ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον τοῦ Παύλου κατεφίλουν αὐτόν,
38 What upset them the most was what he said about never seeing him again... Then they walked down to the ship with him.
38 ὀδυνώμενοι μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ ᾧ εἰρήκει, ὅτι οὐκέτι μέλλουσι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ θεωρεῖν. προέπεμπον δὲ αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ πλοῖον.
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)