Acts 20:18-35
18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived ▼▼ 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.
the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot ▼ in the province of Asia, ▼ 19serving the Lord with all humility ▼ and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots ▼ of the Jews. 20You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming ▼▼ Or “declaring.”
to you anything that would be helpful, ▼ and from teaching you publicly ▼▼ Or “openly.”
and from house to house, 21testifying ▼ to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. ▼▼ Several mss, including some of the more important ones (Ƥ74 א Α C [D] E 33 36 323 945 1175 1241 1505 1739 pm and a number of versions), read Χριστόν (Christon, “Christ”) at the end of this verse. This word is lacking in B H L P Ψ 614 pm. Although the inclusion is supported by many earlier and better mss, internal evidence is on the side of the omission: In Acts, both “Lord Jesus” and “Lord Jesus Christ” occur, though between 16:31 and the end of the book “Lord Jesus Christ” appears only in 28:31, perhaps as a kind of climactic assertion. Thus, the shorter reading is to be preferred.
▼▼ Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. Note the twofold description of the message. It is a turning to God involving faith in Jesus Christ.
22And now, ▼▼ Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
compelled ▼▼ Grk “bound.”
by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem ▼▼ This journey to Jerusalem suggests a parallel between Paul and Jesus, since the “Jerusalem journey” motif figures so prominently in Luke’s Gospel (9:51–19:44).
without knowing what will happen to me there, ▼ 23except ▼ that the Holy Spirit warns ▼▼ The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn” (BDAG 233 s.v. διαμαρτύρομαι 2 has “solemnly urge, exhort, warn…w. dat. of pers. addressed”), and this meaning better fits the context here, although BDAG categorizes Acts 20:23 under the meaning “testify of, bear witness to” (s.v. 1).
me in town after town ▼▼ The Greek text here reads κατὰ πόλιν (kata polin).
that ▼▼ Grk “saying that,” but the participle λέγον (legon) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
imprisonment ▼▼ Grk “bonds.”
and persecutions ▼ are waiting for me. 24But I do not consider my life ▼▼ Grk “soul.”
worth anything ▼▼ Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”
to myself, so that ▼▼ BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”
I may finish my task ▼▼ Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation - ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19–26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6–7.
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ▼▼ Or “to the gospel.”
of God’s grace. 25 “And now ▼
▼ Grk “And now, behold.” Here ἰδού (idou) has not been translated.
I know that none ▼▼ Grk “all of you…will not see.” Greek handles its negation somewhat differently from English, and the translation follows English grammatical conventions.
of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom ▼ will see me ▼▼ Grk “will see my face” (an idiom for seeing someone in person).
again. 26Therefore I declare ▼▼ Or “testify.”
to you today that I am innocent ▼▼ Grk “clean, pure,” thus “guiltless” (BDAG 489 s.v. καθαρός 3.a).
▼▼ I am innocent. Paul had a clear conscience, since he had faithfully carried out his responsibility of announcing to (the Ephesians) the whole purpose of God.
of the blood of you all. ▼▼ That is, “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible” (an idiom). According to L&N 33.223, the meaning of the phrase “that I am innocent of the blood of all of you” is “that if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.” However, due to the length of this phrase and its familiarity to many modern English readers, the translation was kept closer to formal equivalence in this case. The word “you” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; Paul is addressing the Ephesian congregation (in the person of its elders) in both v. 25 and 27.
27For I did not hold back from ▼▼ 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.”
announcing ▼▼ Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”
to you the whole purpose ▼▼ Or “plan.”
of God. 28Watch out for ▼ yourselves and for all the flock of which ▼▼ Grk “in which.”
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, ▼▼ Or “guardians.” BDAG 379-80 s.v. ἐπίσκοπος 2 states, “The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition…Ac 20:28.” This functional term describes the role of the elders (see v. 17). They were to guard and shepherd the congregation.
to shepherd the church of God ▼▼ The reading “of God” (τοῦ θεοῦ, tou theou) is found in א B 614 1175 1505 al vg sy; other witnesses have “of the Lord” (τοῦ κυρίου, tou kuriou) here (so Ƥ74 A C* D E Ψ 33 1739 al co), while the majority of the later minuscule mss conflate these two into “of the Lord and God” (τοῦ κυρίου καὶ [τοῦ] θεοῦ, tou kuriou kai [tou] qeou). Although the evidence is evenly balanced between the first two readings, τοῦ θεοῦ is decidedly superior on internal grounds. The final prepositional phrase of this verse, διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου (dia tou haimatos tou idiou), could be rendered “through his own blood” or “through the blood of his own.” In the latter translation, the object that “own” modifies must be supplied (see [T] below for discussion). But this would not be entirely clear to scribes; those who supposed that ἰδίου modified αἵματος would be prone to alter “God” to “Lord” to avoid the inference that God had blood. In a similar way, later scribes would be prone to conflate the two titles, thereby affirming the deity (with the construction τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ following the Granville Sharp rule and referring to a single person [see ExSyn 272, 276–77, 290]) and substitutionary atonement of Christ. For these reasons, τοῦ θεοῦ best explains the rise of the other readings and should be considered authentic.
that he obtained ▼▼ Or “acquired.”
with the blood of his own Son. ▼▼ Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.
▼▼ That he obtained with the blood of his own Son. This is one of only two explicit statements in Luke-Acts highlighting the substitutionary nature of Christ’s death (the other is in Luke 22:19).
29I know that after I am gone ▼▼ Grk “after my departure.”
fierce wolves ▼▼ That is, people like fierce wolves. See BDAG 167-68 s.v. βαρύς 4 on the term translated “fierce.” The battle that will follow would be a savage one.
will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30Even from among your own group ▼▼ Grk “from among yourselves.”
men ▼▼ The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only rarely is used in a generic sense to refer to both males and females. Since Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders at this point and there is nothing in the context to suggest women were included in that group (“from among your own group”), it is most likely Paul was not predicting that these false teachers would include women.
will arise, teaching perversions of the truth ▼ ▼▼ These perversions of the truth refer to the kinds of threats that would undermine repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. v. 21). Instead these false teachers would arise from within the Ephesian congregation (cf. 1 John 2:18–19) and would seek to draw the disciples away after them.
to draw the disciples away after them. 31Therefore be alert, ▼▼ Or “be watchful.”
remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning ▼▼ Or “admonishing.”
each one of you with tears. 32And now I entrust ▼ you to God and to the message ▼▼ Grk “word.”
of his grace. This message ▼▼ Grk “the message of his grace, which.” The phrase τῷ δυναμένῳ οἰκοδομῆσαι… (tō dunamenō oikodomēsai…) refers to τῷ λόγω (tō logō), not τῆς χάριτος (tēs caritos); in English it could refer to either “the message” or “grace,” but in Greek, because of agreement in gender, the referent can only be “the message.” To make this clear, a new sentence was begun in the translation and the referent “the message” was repeated at the beginning of this new sentence.
is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33I have desired ▼▼ Traditionally, “coveted.” BDAG 371 s.v. ἐπιθυμέω 1 has “to have a strong desire to do or secure someth., desire, long for w. gen. of the thing desired…silver, gold, clothing Ac 20:33.” The traditional term “covet” is not in common usage and difficult for many modern English readers to understand. The statement affirms Paul’s integrity. He was not doing this for personal financial gain.
no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands of mine ▼▼ The words “of mine” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify whose hands Paul is referring to.
provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 35By all these things, ▼▼ The expression By all these things means “In everything I did.”
I have shown you that by working in this way we must help ▼▼ Or “must assist.”
the weak, ▼ and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” ▼
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