Acts 20:7

20:7 On the first day ¹  of the week, when we met ²  to break bread, Paul began to speak ³  to the people, and because he intended ⁴  to leave the next day, he extended ⁵  his message until midnight.

Acts 20:17-20

20:17 From Miletus ⁶  he sent a message ⁷  to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him. ⁸ 

20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived ⁹  the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot ¹⁰  in the province of Asia, ¹¹  20:19 serving the Lord with all humility ¹²  and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots ¹³  of the Jews. 20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming ¹⁴  to you anything that would be helpful, ¹⁵  and from teaching you publicly ¹⁶  and from house to house,

Acts 20:27

20:27 For I did not hold back from ¹⁷  announcing ¹⁸  to you the whole purpose ¹⁹  of God.

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

[20:7]  ² tn Or “assembled.”

[20:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “prolonged.”

[20:17]  ⁶ sn Miletus was a seaport on the western coast of Asia Minor about 45 mi (72 km) south of Ephesus.

[20:17]  ⁷ tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[20:17]  ⁸ tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text but are implied. L&N 33.311 has for the verb μετακαλέομαι (metakaleomai) “to summon someone, with considerable insistence and authority – ‘to summon, to tell to come.’”

[20:18]  ⁹ tn Grk “You yourselves know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” This could be understood to mean “how I stayed with you the whole time,” but the following verses make it clear that Paul’s lifestyle while with the Ephesians is in view here. Thus the translation “how I lived the whole time I was with you” makes this clear.

[20:18]  ¹⁰ tn Or “I arrived.” BDAG 367 s.v. ἐπιβαίνω 2, “set foot in…εἰς τ. ᾿Ασίαν set foot in Asia Ac 20:18.” However, L&N 15.83 removes the idiom: “you know that since the first day that I came to Asia.”

[20:18]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Asia”; see the note on this word in v. 16.

[20:19]  ¹² sn On humility see 2 Cor 10:1; 11:7; 1 Thess 2:6; Col 3:12; Eph 4:2; Phil 2:3-11.

[20:19]  ¹³ sn These plots are mentioned in Acts 9:24; 20:13.

[20:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “declaring.”

[20:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “profitable.” BDAG 960 s.v. συμφέρω 2.b.α has “τὰ συμφέροντα what advances your best interests or what is good for you Ac 20:20,” but the broader meaning (s.v. 2, “to be advantageous, help, confer a benefit, be profitable/useful”) is equally possible in this context.

[20:20]  ¹⁶ tn Or “openly.”

[20:27]  ¹⁷ tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern – ‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”

[20:27]  ¹⁸ tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”

[20:27]  ¹⁹ tn Or “plan.”