Acts 20:3

3 and stayed three months. [Because] a plot was made against him by the Jews [as he] was about to set sail for Syria, he came to a decision to return through Macedonia.

Acts 20:3 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 20:3

And there abode three months
In Greece:

and when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into
Syria;
from some part of Greece, in order to go to Jerusalem; which the Jews in the parts of Greece understanding, laid wait for him, either by sea or land, with an intention either to take the money from him, which he had collected in Macedonia, and in Greece, for the poor saints at Jerusalem, or to take away his life, or both; of which lying in wait for him, the apostle had some notice, either by divine revelation, or from somebody who was in the secret, or had got knowledge of it from such as were: upon which he

purposed to return through Macedonia;
through which he came from Ephesus to Greece: this wicked design being made known to him, obliged him, in point of prudence, and both for his own safety, and the good of the churches, to alter his scheme, and steer his course another way, to the disappointment of his enemies; in which the wisdom of providence, the care of God over his ministers, and his concern for his churches manifestly appeared.

Acts 20:3 In-Context

1 Now after the turmoil had ceased, Paul summoned the disciples, and [after] encouraging [them], he said farewell [and] departed to travel to Macedonia.
2 And [after he] had gone through those regions and encouraged them {at length}, he came to Greece
3 and stayed three months. [Because] a plot was made against him by the Jews [as he] was about to set sail for Syria, he came to a decision to return through Macedonia.
4 And Sopater [son] of Pyrrhus from Berea, and Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, and Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia, were accompanying him.
5 And these had gone on ahead [and] were waiting for us in Troas.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. *Here the participle ("stayed") has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style
  • [b]. *Here "[because]" is supplied as a component of the causal genitive absolute participle ("was made")
  • [c]. *Here "[as]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("was about to") which is understood as temporal
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