Paragraph 20:17–21

20:17

Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church: This clause indicates that Paul sent someone or a message to Ephesus to ask the elders to come and meet him at Miletus. Other ways to translate this clause are:

he sent ⌊a message⌋ for the elders of the church of Ephesus ⌊to come⌋
-or-
Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him (Good News Translation)

elders: This word refers to leaders of the believers at a village, town or city. See how you translated the word elders at 15:2 or 16:4.

the church: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as church refers to a gathering of people that someone summoned for a particular purpose. Here, as almost always in the NT, it refers to groups of believers who believe in Jesus Christ.

In the Bible this word never refers to church buildings. You also should not use a word or a phrase, like “denomination” that refers to a group of churches separate from other groups. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

congregation
-or-
the believers ⌊who lived there⌋
-or-
the gathering of believers

See how you translated the word church in 5:11 or 18:22.

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