20:9a

a certain young man: This phrase refers to a male human between perhaps sixteen years old and the usual age of marriage, perhaps twenty-five. Later Luke refers to Eutychus as a “boy,” so he was probably thirteen to nineteen years old.

seated in the window: Windows of that time did not have glass. There may have been shutters, but they would have been open. The walls were probably thick stone, so there would have been room to sit in the window opening.

20:9b

was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on: This clause tells the reader more about Eutychus. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Luke was thinking of other men named Eutychus and only this one was sinking into a deep sleep. If that is true in your language, translate this information in a way that tells more about Eutychus. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

He was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on.

was sinking into a deep sleep: This phrase refers to becoming very sleepy. For example:

got sleepier and sleepier (Good News Translation)

talked: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as talked refers to someone speaking to a group, teaching and encouraging them. It refers to the same event as Paul speaking in 20:7c.

on and on: This phrase in Greek is literally “for much (time).” The phrase “much time” probably indicates that Paul spoke from early evening until midnight. Eutychus probably fell out of the window about midnight. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

for a long time
-or-
still longer (Revised Standard Version)

20:9c

When he was sound asleep: Here the phrase sound asleep means “completely asleep.”

20:9d

he fell: The Greek phrase is literally “he fell down.” Eutychus fell all the way to the ground from the third story window.

the third story: This phrase refers to the floor of the house two floors above the ground floor. In some languages this would be called the second story, because the first floor is the one above the ground floor.

20:9e

and was picked up dead: The context implies that some of the believers rushed downstairs to see what happened to Eutychus. Some languages must include that implied information. For example:

⌊people rushed downstairs⌋ and picked him up dead

was picked up dead: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

When they picked him up, he was dead (Good News Translation)

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