Acts 20

1 And after the uproar had stopped, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had encouraged them and said goodbye he went out to go to Macedonia. 2 And when he had gone through those parts and encouraged them with much speaking, he came to Greece 3 and spent three months. And when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to put out for Syria, he came to the decision to go back through Macedonia. 4 And Sopater son of Pyrrhus, a Berean, went with him, and of the Thessalonians Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe and Timothy, and of the Asians Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas; [a] 6 and we sailed from Philippi after the days of Bread Without Yeast, and came to them at Troas in five days, and there we stayed seven days. [b]

7 And on the first day of the week, when we had gathered to break bread, Paul was speaking with them, since he was going to leave the next day, and he kept the word going until midnight. [c] 8 And there were a good many lamps in the upper room where we had gathered. 9 And a certain young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window, being carried down into a deep sleep while Paul kept on speaking; and carried off by the sleep he fell from the third story down, and was picked up dead. [d]

10 But Paul went down and fell on him, and taking him in his arms he said, “Do not make an uproar, for his life is in him.” [e] 11 And going back up and breaking the bread and eating, he talked with them a long while, until daybreak, and so he went out. 12 And they brought the boy alive, and were encouraged beyond measure.

13 But we went ahead to the ship and put out for Assos, meaning to take Paul on board there, for so he had arranged, meaning himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos we took him on board and came to Mitylene, 15 and sailing from there we arrived the next day opposite Chios, and the day after we crossed over to Samos, and the day after that we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if it were possible for him, on the day of Pentecost. [f]

17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the gathering. [g] † 18 And when they came to him he said to them, “You know how I was with you the whole time, from the first day I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind and with tears and with the testings that came to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was of use, but told it to you and taught you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews and Greeks alike of the change of mind toward God and of trust in our Lord Jesus.

22 “And now, look — bound in the spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will meet me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in city after city, saying that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. 24 But I count my life as worth no account to myself, so long as I may finish my course and the service I received from the Lord Jesus — to testify to the good news of God’s favor. [h]

25 “And now, look — I know that you will no longer see my face, all of you among whom I went about proclaiming the kingdom. 26 Therefore I testify to you this very day that I am clean from the blood of all, 27 for I did not keep back from telling you the whole plan of God.

28 “Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers, to shepherd the gathering of God, which he obtained through his own blood. [i] 29 I know that after my going away fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, 30 and from among your own selves men will rise up speaking twisted things, to drag the disciples away after them. 31 So stay awake, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. [k]

32 “And now I entrust you to God and to the word of his favor, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been made holy. 33 I desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands served my own needs and the needs of those with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard like this we must come to the help of the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” [l] †

36 And when he had said these things he knelt down with them all and prayed. 37 And there was a great deal of weeping from them all, and falling on Paul’s neck they kissed him, 38 hurting most of all over the word he had spoken, that they were no longer going to see his face. And they sent him on his way to the ship.