Acts 20:4

20:4 Paul ¹  was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, ²  Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, ³  Gaius ⁴  from Derbe, ⁵  and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. ⁶ 

Acts 20:2

20:2 After he had gone through those regions ⁷  and spoken many words of encouragement ⁸  to the believers there, ⁹  he came to Greece, ¹⁰ 

Acts 4:20

4:20 for it is impossible ¹¹  for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”

[20:4]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:4]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “of the Thessalonians.”

[20:4]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 30 mi (50 km) southeast of Lystra.

[20:4]  ⁶ 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.

[20:2]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “[to] them”; the referent (the believers there) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ¹⁰ 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).

[4:20]  ¹¹ tn Grk “for we are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard,” but the double negative, which cancels out in English, is emphatic in Greek. The force is captured somewhat by the English translation “it is impossible for us not to speak…” although this is slightly awkward.