Acts 20:18-35

18 And when they came to him, he said to them, "You know from the first day on which I set foot in Asia how I was the whole time with you--
19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews--
20 how I did not shrink from proclaiming to you anything that would be profitable, and [from] teaching you in public and from house [to house],
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks with respect to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 "And now behold, bound by the Spirit I am traveling to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me {there},
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in town [after town], saying that bonds and persecutions await me.
24 But I consider [my] life [as] worth {nothing} to myself, in order to finish my mission and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify [to] the gospel of the grace of God.
25 "And now behold, I know that all [of] you, among whom I went about proclaiming the kingdom, will see my face no more.
26 Therefore I testify to you on this very day that I am guiltless of the blood of all [of you],
27 for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the whole purpose of God.
28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has appointed you [as] overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he obtained through the blood of his own [Son].
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 And from among you yourselves men will arise, speaking {perversions of the truth} in order to draw away the disciples after them.
31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day [for] three years I did not stop warning each one [of you] with tears.
32 "And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build [you] up and to give [you] the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
33 I have desired no one's silver or gold or clothing!
34 You yourselves know that these hands served [to meet] my needs and [the needs of] those who were with me.
35 I have shown you [with respect to] all [things] that [by] working hard in this way it is necessary to help those who are in need, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Footnotes 14

  • [a]. A reference to the Roman province of Asia (modern Asia Minor)
  • [b]. Literally "in it"
  • [c]. *Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  • [d]. Or "not a single word"; literally "not any thing"
  • [e]. *The words "[of you]" are not in the Greek text but are implied
  • [f]. Or "through his own blood"; the Greek construction can be taken either way, with "Son" implied if the meaning is "through the blood of his own"
  • [g]. Literally "crooked things"
  • [h]. *The words "[of you]" are not in the Greek text but are implied
  • [i]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [j]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [k]. *The words "[to meet]" are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity
  • [l]. *The words "[the needs of]" are supplied in keeping with English style to maintain the parallelism with the earlier phrase "my needs"
  • [m]. *Here "[by]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("working hard") which is understood as means
  • [n]. Perhaps an allusion to Matt 10:8; these exact words are not found in the NT gospels
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