Acts 20:1-9

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ¹  them and saying farewell, ²  he left to go to Macedonia. ³  20:2 After he had gone through those regions ⁴  and spoken many words of encouragement ⁵  to the believers there, ⁶  he came to Greece, ⁷  20:3 where he stayed ⁸  for three months. Because the Jews had made ⁹  a plot ¹⁰  against him as he was intending ¹¹  to sail ¹²  for Syria, he decided ¹³  to return through Macedonia. ¹⁴  20:4 Paul ¹⁵  was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, ¹⁶  Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, ¹⁷  Gaius ¹⁸  from Derbe, ¹⁹  and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. ²⁰  20:5 These had gone on ahead ²¹  and were waiting for us in Troas. ²²  20:6 We ²³  sailed away from Philippi ²⁴  after the days of Unleavened Bread, ²⁵  and within five days ²⁶  we came to the others ²⁷  in Troas, ²⁸  where we stayed for seven days. 20:7 On the first day ²⁹  of the week, when we met ³⁰  to break bread, Paul began to speak ³¹  to the people, and because he intended ³²  to leave the next day, he extended ³³  his message until midnight. 20:8 (Now there were many lamps ³⁴  in the upstairs room where we were meeting.) ³⁵  20:9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, ³⁶  was sinking ³⁷  into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak ³⁸  for a long time. Fast asleep, ³⁹  he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.

[20:1]  ¹ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ² tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ³ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[20:2]  ⁴ tn BDAG 633 s.v. μέρος 1.b.γ gives the meanings “the parts (of a geographical area), region, district,” but the use of “district” in this context probably implies too much specificity.

[20:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “and encouraging them with many words.” The participle παρακαλέσας (parakalesa", “encouraging”) has been translated by the phrase “spoken…words of encouragement” because the formal equivalent is awkward in contemporary English.

[20:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ⁷ tn In popular usage the term translated “Greece” here could also refer to the Roman province officially known as Achaia (BDAG 318 s.v. ῾Ελλάς).

[20:3]  ⁸ tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”

[20:3]  ⁹ tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹⁰ sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).

[20:3]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:3]  ¹² tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.

[20:3]  ¹³ tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”

[20:3]  ¹⁴ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[20:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:4]  ¹⁶ sn Berea (alternate spelling in NRSV Beroea; Greek Beroia) was a very old city in Macedonia on the river Astraeus about 45 mi (75 km) from Thessalonica.

[20:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “of the Thessalonians.”

[20:4]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and Gaius,” but this καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[20:4]  ¹⁹ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 30 mi (50 km) southeast of Lystra.

[20:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the Asians Tychicus and Trophimus.” In the NT “Asia” always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

[20:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “These, having gone on ahead, were waiting.” The participle προελθόντες (proelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:5]  ²² sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor.

[20:6]  ²³ sn This marks the beginning of another “we” section in Acts. These have been traditionally understood to mean that Luke was in the company of Paul for this part of the journey.

[20:6]  ²⁴ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[20:6]  ²⁵ sn The days of Unleavened Bread refer to the week following Passover. Originally an agricultural festival commemorating the beginning of harvest, it was celebrated for seven days beginning on the fifteenth day of the month Nisan (March-April). It was later combined with Passover (Exod 12:1-20; Ezek 45:21-24; Matt 26:17; Luke 22:1).

[20:6]  ²⁶ tn BDAG 160 s.v. ἄχρι 1.a.α has “ἄ. ἡμερῶν πέντε within five days Ac 20:6.”

[20:6]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the others mentioned in v. 4) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:6]  ²⁸ sn Troas was a port city (and surrounding region) on the northwest coast of Asia Minor. From Philippi to Troas was about 125 mi (200 km).

[20:7]  ²⁹ sn On the first day. This is the first mention of a Sunday gathering (1 Cor 16:2).

[20:7]  ³⁰ tn Or “assembled.”

[20:7]  ³¹ tn The verb διαλέγομαι (dialegomai) is frequently used of Paul addressing Jews in the synagogue. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21. In the context of a Christian gathering, it is preferable to translate διελέγετο (dielegeto) simply as “speak” here. The imperfect verb διελέγετο has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[20:7]  ³² tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:7]  ³³ tn Or “prolonged.”

[20:8]  ³⁴ tn More commonly λαμπάς (lampa") means “torch,” but here according to BDAG 585 s.v. λαμπάς 2, “lamp…w. a wick and space for oil.”

[20:8]  ³⁵ sn This is best taken as a parenthetical note by the author.

[20:9]  ³⁶ tn This window was probably a simple opening in the wall (see also BDAG 462 s.v. θυρίς).

[20:9]  ³⁷ tn Grk “sinking into a deep sleep.” BDAG 529 s.v. καταφέρω 3 has “ὕπνῳ βαθεῖ sink into a deep sleep…Ac 20:9a.” The participle καταφερόμενος (kataferomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[20:9]  ³⁸ tn The participle διαλεγομένου (dialegomenou) has been taken temporally.

[20:9]  ³⁹ tn BDAG 529 s.v. καταφέρω 3 has “κατενεχθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὔπνου overwhelmed by sleep vs. 9b,” but this expression is less common in contemporary English than phrases like “fast asleep” or “sound asleep.”