Section 20:13–38
Paul and others traveled to Miletus
In this section, Paul and his companions traveled from Troas to Miletus where he summoned the elders of the believers at Ephesus to come to him. After the elders arrived, Paul spoke his last words to them. In his speech, he defended his good behavior among them and spoke about being determined to go to Jerusalem even though he knew that enemies might try to harm him there. Lastly, he exhorted them to be faithful and watchful as they cared for other believers.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The Voyage from Troas to Miletus (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Paul went to Miletus and exhorted the Ephesian elders
Paragraph 20:13–16
20:13a
We: This word probably refers to Luke and the seven other companions of Paul named in 20:4.
went on ahead to the ship: These words indicate that Luke and the others left Paul in Troas and went to the ship. Paul would travel later, probably later that day. But he went by land to Assos. Other ways to translate this are:
went ahead to the ship (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
left ⌊Paul⌋ and went to the ship
sailed to Assos: The verb “sail” refers to traveling by ship. At that time most ships used sails and the wind to move forward. Luke and the others traveled by sailing ship to Assos.
Assos: Assos was a town on the coast of the province of Mysia. It was about 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Troas.
20:13b
where we were to take Paul aboard: The phrase take Paul aboard indicates that Luke and the others would go by ship to Assos and meet Paul there. Since they were already on the ship, they probably would
(1) welcome Paul onto the ship at Assos,
(2) leave the ship at the harbor at Assos, find Paul there, and bring him to the correct ship.
Translate in a way that allows for one or both interpretations. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
where we would bring Paul aboard
-or-
where we would welcome Paul aboard
-or-
where Paul would board the ship to travel with us
we were to: This phrase indicates that Luke and the others were planning to take Paul aboard. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
intending to (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
we planned to
20:13c
He had arranged this: This clause refers to planning the deeds of 20:13a–c. Other ways to translate this clause are:
Paul planned it this way (New Century Version)
-or-
He had told us to do this (Good News Translation)
going there on foot: The Greek word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as going…on foot refers to any kind of travel by land. For example:
go by land (Revised Standard Version)
Here the Greek word probably implies that Paul walked, so the Berean Standard Bible says on foot.
General Comment on 20:13a–c
Luke did not write about these events in the order they happened. In some languages it is more natural to put the events in the order they happened. For example:
Paul planned that we would go ahead ⌊of him⌋ to the ship. We would sail for Assos, and he would go by land. We would take Paul aboard there. ⌊So we did that.⌋
-or-
Paul told us that he was going to travel by land to Assos. He told us to go and board the ship going to Assos. Then he would join us on the ship. So we went to the ship and sailed to Assos and he walked there.
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