Acts 20:4-23:35

⁴ And there were accompanying him unto Asia, Sopater of Berea, and of Thessalonians Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus, and of Asiatics Tychicus and Trophimus; ⁵ these, having gone before, did remain for us in Troas, ⁶ and we sailed, after the days of the unleavened food, from Philippi, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven days.

Paul's Farewell Visit at Troas

⁷ And on the first of the week, the disciples having been gathered together to break bread, Paul was discoursing to them, about to depart on the morrow, he was also continuing the discourse till midnight, ⁸ and there were many lamps in the upper chamber where they were gathered together, ⁹ and there was sitting a certain youth, by name Eutychus, upon the window—being borne down by a deep sleep, Paul discoursing long—he having sunk down from the sleep, fell down from the third story, and was lifted up dead. ¹⁰ And Paul, having gone down, fell upon him, and having embraced 'him', said, 'Make no tumult, for his life is in him;' ¹¹ and having come up, and having broken bread, and having tasted, for a long time also having talked—till daylight, so he went forth, ¹² and they brought up the lad alive, and were comforted in no ordinary measure.

The Voyage from Troas to Miletus

¹³ And we having gone before unto the ship, did sail to Assos, thence intending to take in Paul, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go on foot; ¹⁴ and when he met with us at Assos, having taken him up, we came to Mitylene, ¹⁵ and thence having sailed, on the morrow we came over-against Chios, and the next day we arrived at Samos, and having remained in Trogyllium, on the following day we came to Miletus, ¹⁶ for Paul decided to sail past Ephesus, that there may not be to him a loss of time in Asia, for he hasted, if it were possible for him, on the day of the Pentecost to be at Jerusalem.

Paul's Address to the Ephesian Elders

¹⁷ And from Miletus, having sent to Ephesus, he called for the elders of the assembly, ¹⁸ and when they were come unto him, he said to them, 'Ye—ye know from the first day in which I came to Asia, how, with you at all times I was; ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility, and many tears, and temptations, that befell me in the counsels of the Jews against 'me'; ²⁰ how nothing I did keep back of what things are profitable, not to declare to you, and to teach you publicly, and in every house, ²¹ testifying fully both to Jews and Greeks, toward God reformation, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² 'And now, lo, I—bound in the Spirit—go on to Jerusalem, the things that shall befall me in it not knowing, ²³ save that the Holy Spirit in every city doth testify fully, saying, that for me bonds and tribulations remain; ²⁴ but I make account of none of these, neither do I count my life precious to myself, so that I finish my course with joy, and the ministration that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify fully the good news of the grace of God. ²⁵ 'And now, lo, I have known that no more shall ye see my face,—ye all among whom I did go preaching the reign of God; ²⁶ wherefore I take you to witness this day, that I 'am' clear from the blood of all, ²⁷ for I did not keep back from declaring to you all the counsel of God. ²⁸ 'Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit made you overseers, to feed the assembly of God that He acquired through His own blood, ²⁹ for I have known this, that there shall enter in, after my departing, grievous wolves unto you, not sparing the flock, ³⁰ and of your own selves there shall arise men, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ 'Therefore, watch, remembering that three years, night and day, I did not cease with tears warning each one; ³² and now, I commend you, brethren, to God, and to the word of His grace, that is able to build up, and to give you an inheritance among all those sanctified. ³³ 'The silver or gold or garments of no one did I covet; ³⁴ and ye yourselves know that to my necessities, and to those who were with me, minister did these hands; ³⁵ all things I did shew you, that, thus labouring, it behoveth 'us' to partake with the ailing, to be mindful also of the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

³⁶ And these things having said, having bowed his knees, with them all, he did pray, ³⁷ and there came a great weeping to all, and having fallen upon the neck of Paul, they were kissing him, ³⁸ sorrowing most of all for the word that he had said—that they are about no more to see his face; and they were accompanying him to the ship.

Paul's Journey to Jerusalem

21¹ And it came to pass, at our sailing, having been parted from them, having run direct, we came to Coos, and the succeeding 'day' to Rhodes, and thence to Patara, ² and having found a ship passing over to Phenicia, having gone on board, we sailed, ³ and having discovered Cyprus, and having left it on the left, we were sailing to Syria, and did land at Tyre, for there was the ship discharging the lading. ⁴ And having found out the disciples, we tarried there seven days, and they said to Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up to Jerusalem; ⁵ but when it came that we completed the days, having gone forth, we went on, all bringing us on the way, with women and children, unto the outside of the city, and having bowed the knees upon the shore, we prayed, ⁶ and having embraced one another, we embarked in the ship, and they returned to their own friends. ⁷ And we, having finished the course, from Tyre came down to Ptolemais, and having saluted the brethren, we remained one day with them;

⁸ and on the morrow Paul and his company having gone forth, we came to Cesarea, and having entered into the house of Philip the evangelist—who is of the seven—we remained with him, ⁹ and this one had four daughters, virgins, prophesying. ¹⁰ And we remaining many more days, there came down a certain one from Judea, a prophet, by name Agabus, ¹¹ and he having come unto us, and having taken up the girdle of Paul, having bound also his own hands and feet, said, 'Thus saith the Holy Spirit, The man whose is this girdle—so shall the Jews in Jerusalem bind, and they shall deliver 'him' up to the hands of nations.' ¹² And when we heard these things, we called upon 'him'—both we, and those of that place—not to go up to Jerusalem, ¹³ and Paul answered, 'What do ye—weeping, and crushing mine heart? for I, not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem, am ready, for the name of the Lord Jesus;' ¹⁴ and he not being persuaded, we were silent, saying, 'The will of the Lord be done.'

¹⁵ And after these days, having taken 'our' vessels, we were going up to Jerusalem, ¹⁶ and there went also of the disciples from Cesarea with us, bringing with them him with whom we may lodge, a certain Mnason of Cyprus, an aged disciple.

Paul Arrested in the Temple

¹⁷ And we having come to Jerusalem, the brethren did gladly receive us, ¹⁸ and on the morrow Paul was going in with us unto James, all the elders also came, ¹⁹ and having saluted them, he was declaring, one by one, each of the things God did among the nations through his ministration, ²⁰ and they having heard, were glorifying the Lord. They said also to him, 'Thou seest, brother, how many myriads there are of Jews who have believed, and all are zealous of the law, ²¹ and they are instructed concerning thee, that apostacy from Moses thou dost teach to all Jews among the nations, saying—Not to circumcise the children, nor after the customs to walk; ²² what then is it? certainly the multitude it behoveth to come together, for they will hear that thou hast come. ²³ 'This, therefore, do that we say to thee: We have four men having a vow on themselves, ²⁴ these having taken, be purified with them, and be at expence with them, that they may shave the head, and all may know that the things of which they have been instructed concerning thee are nothing, but thou dost walk—thyself also—the law keeping. ²⁵ 'And concerning those of the nations who have believed, we have written, having given judgment, that they observe no such thing, except to keep themselves both from idol-sacrifices, and blood, and a strangled thing, and whoredom.' ²⁶ Then Paul, having taken the men, on the following day, with them having purified himself, was entering into the temple, announcing the fulfilment of the days of the purification, till the offering was offered for each one of them.

²⁷ And, as the seven days were about to be fully ended, the Jews from Asia having beheld him in the temple, were stirring up all the multitude, and they laid hands upon him, ²⁸ crying out, 'Men, Israelites, help! this is the man who, against the people, and the law, and this place, all everywhere is teaching; and further, also, Greeks he brought into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place;' ²⁹ for they had seen before Trophimus, the Ephesian, in the city with him, whom they were supposing that Paul brought into the temple. ³⁰ All the city also was moved and there was a running together of the people, and having laid hold on Paul, they were drawing him out of the temple, and immediately were the doors shut, ³¹ and they seeking to kill him, a rumour came to the chief captain of the band that all Jerusalem hath been thrown into confusion, ³² who, at once, having taken soldiers and centurions, ran down upon them, and they having seen the chief captain and the soldiers, did leave off beating Paul. ³³ Then the chief captain, having come nigh, took him, and commanded 'him' to be bound with two chains, and was inquiring who he may be, and what it is he hath been doing, ³⁴ and some were crying out one thing, and some another, among the multitude, and not being able to know the certainty because of the tumult, he commanded him to be carried to the castle, ³⁵ and when he came upon the steps, it happened he was borne by the soldiers, because of the violence of the multitude, ³⁶ for the crowd of the people was following after, crying, 'Away with him.'

Paul's Defense before the People

³⁷ And Paul being about to be led into the castle, saith to the chief captain, 'Is it permitted to me to say anything unto thee?' and he said, 'Greek dost thou know? ³⁸ art not thou, then, the Egyptian who before these days made an uprising, and did lead into the desert the four thousand men of the assassins?' ³⁹ And Paul said, 'I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, of Tarsus of Cilicia, of no mean city a citizen; and I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.' ⁴⁰ And he having given him leave, Paul having stood upon the stairs, did beckon with the hand to the people, and there having been a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew dialect, saying:

22¹ 'Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defence now unto you;'— ² and they having heard that in the Hebrew dialect he was speaking to them, gave the more silence, and he saith,—

³ 'I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been taught according to the exactitude of a law of the fathers, being zealous of God, as all ye are to-day. ⁴ 'And this way I persecuted unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women, ⁵ as also the chief priest doth testify to me, and all the eldership; from whom also having received letters unto the brethren, to Damascus, I was going on, to bring also those there bound to Jerusalem that they might be punished,

Paul Tells of His Conversion

⁶ and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me, ⁷ I fell also to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute? ⁸ 'And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? and he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom thou dost persecute— ⁹ and they who are with me the light did see, and became afraid, and the voice they heard not of him who is speaking to me— ¹⁰ and I said, What shall I do, Lord? and the Lord said unto me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things that have been appointed for thee to do. ¹¹ 'And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to Damascus, ¹² and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling 'there', ¹³ having come unto me and stood by 'me', said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to him; ¹⁴ and he said, The God of our fathers did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of his mouth, ¹⁵ because thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard; ¹⁶ and now, why tarriest thou? having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.

Paul's Call to the Gentiles

¹⁷ 'And it came to pass when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came into a trance, ¹⁸ and I saw him saying to me, Haste and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive thy testimony concerning me; ¹⁹ and I said, Lord, they—they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging in every synagogue those believing on thee; ²⁰ and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was being poured forth, I also was standing by and assenting to his death, and keeping the garments of those putting him to death; ²¹ and he said unto me, Go, because to nations far off I will send thee.'

Paul in the Custody of the Chief Captain

²² And they were hearing him unto this word, and they lifted up their voice, saying, 'Away from the earth with such an one; for it is not fit for him to live.' ²³ And they crying out and casting up their garments, and throwing dust into the air, ²⁴ the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, saying, 'By scourges let him be examined;' that he might know for what cause they were crying so against him. ²⁵ And as he was stretching him with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion who was standing by, 'A man, a Roman, uncondemned—is it lawful to you to scourge;' ²⁶ and the centurion having heard, having gone near to the chief captain, told, saying, 'Take heed what thou art about to do, for this man is a Roman;' ²⁷ and the chief captain having come near, said to him, 'Tell me, art thou a Roman?' and he said, 'Yes;' ²⁸ and the chief captain answered, 'I, with a great sum, did obtain this citizenship;' but Paul said, 'But I have been even born 'so'.' ²⁹ Immediately, therefore, they departed from him who are about to examine him, and the chief captain also was afraid, having learned that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him,

Paul before the Council

³⁰ and on the morrow, intending to know the certainty wherefore he is accused by the Jews, he did loose him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their sanhedrim to come, and having brought down Paul, he set 'him' before them.

23¹ And Paul having earnestly beheld the sanhedrim, said, 'Men, brethren, I in all good conscience have lived to God unto this day;' ² and the chief priest Ananias commanded those standing by him to smite him on the mouth, ³ then Paul said unto him, 'God is about to smite thee, thou whitewashed wall, and thou—thou dost sit judging me according to the law, and, violating law, dost order me to be smitten!' ⁴ And those who stood by said, 'The chief priest of God dost thou revile?' ⁵ and Paul said, 'I did not know, brethren, that he is chief priest: for it hath been written, Of the ruler of thy people thou shalt not speak evil;'

⁶ and Paul having known that the one part are Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, cried out in the sanhedrim, 'Men, brethren, I am a Pharisee—son of a Pharisee—concerning hope and rising again of dead men I am judged.' ⁷ And he having spoken this, there came a dissension of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and the crowd was divided, ⁸ for Sadducees, indeed, say there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, but Pharisees confess both. ⁹ And there came a great cry, and the scribes of the Pharisees' part having arisen, were striving, saying, 'No evil do we find in this man; and if a spirit spake to him, or a messenger, we may not fight against God;' ¹⁰ and a great dissension having come, the chief captain having been afraid lest Paul may be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiery, having gone down, to take him by force out of the midst of them, and to bring 'him' to the castle. ¹¹ And on the following night, the Lord having stood by him, said, 'Take courage, Paul, for as thou didst fully testify the things concerning me at Jerusalem, so it behoveth thee also at Rome to testify.'

The Plot against Paul's Life

¹² And day having come, certain of the Jews having made a concourse, did anathematize themselves, saying neither to eat nor to drink till they may kill Paul; ¹³ and they were more than forty who made this conspiracy by oath, ¹⁴ who having come near to the chief priests and to the elders said, 'With an anathema we did anathematize ourselves—to taste nothing till we have killed Paul; ¹⁵ now, therefore, ye, signify ye to the chief captain, with the sanhedrim, that to-morrow he may bring him down unto you, as being about to know more exactly the things concerning him; and we, before his coming nigh, are ready to put him to death.' ¹⁶ And the son of Paul's sister having heard of the lying in wait, having gone and entered into the castle, told Paul, ¹⁷ and Paul having called near one of the centurions, said, 'This young man lead unto the chief captain, for he hath something to tell him.' ¹⁸ He indeed, then, having taken him, brought him unto the chief captain, and saith, 'The prisoner Paul, having called me near, asked 'me' this young man to bring unto thee, having something to say to thee.' ¹⁹ And the chief captain having taken him by the hand, and having withdrawn by themselves, inquired, 'What is that which thou hast to tell me?' ²⁰ and he said—'The Jews agreed to request thee, that to-morrow to the sanhedrim thou mayest bring down Paul, as being about to enquire something more exactly concerning him; ²¹ thou, therefore, mayest thou not yield to them, for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who did anathematize themselves—not to eat nor to drink till they kill him, and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from thee.' ²² The chief captain, then, indeed, let the young man go, having charged 'him' to tell no one, 'that these things thou didst shew unto me;'

Paul Sent to Felix the Governor

²³ and having called near a certain two of the centurions, he said, 'Make ready soldiers two hundred, that they may go on unto Caesarea, and horsemen seventy, and spearmen two hundred, from the third hour of the night; ²⁴ beasts also provide, that, having set Paul on, they may bring him safe unto Felix the governor;' ²⁵ he having written a letter after this description: ²⁶ 'Claudius Lysias, to the most noble governor Felix, hail: ²⁷ This man having been taken by the Jews, and being about to be killed by them—having come with the soldiery, I rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman; ²⁸ and, intending to know the cause for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their sanhedrim, ²⁹ whom I found accused concerning questions of their law, and having no accusation worthy of death or bonds; ³⁰ and a plot having been intimated to me against this man—about to be of the Jews—at once I sent unto thee, having given command also to the accusers to say the things against him before thee; be strong.' ³¹ Then, indeed, the soldiers according to that directed them, having taken up Paul, brought him through the night to Antipatris, ³² and on the morrow, having suffered the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the castle; ³³ those having entered into Caesarea, and delivered the letter to the governor, did present also Paul to him. ³⁴ And the governor having read 'it', and inquired of what province he is, and understood that 'he is' from Cilicia; ³⁵ 'I will hear thee—said he—when thine accusers also may have come;' he also commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.