Chapter
Verse

Acts 20:5

ESV These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas,
NIV These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.
NASB Now these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas.
CSB These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas,
NLT They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.
KJV These going before tarried for us at Troas.

What does Acts 20:5 mean?

Paul is making his way back to Jerusalem from the churches he planted along the coast of the Aegean Sea. He and Luke are in Philippi while the rest of their companions have already sailed to Troas on the coast of modern-day Turkey.

Of Paul's companions (Acts 20:4), neither Sopater nor Secundus are mentioned outside of this passage. Aristarchus was with Paul in Ephesus; he was dragged into the riot in the theater but managed to escape (Acts 19:29). Gaius, however, is from the same area as Timothy—in Galatia in central Turkey—while the Gaius who was caught up with Aristarchus was from Macedonia. Tychicus and Trophimus are from the province where Ephesus sits.

This is the first time Luke has used a first-person plural pronoun since Paul was in Philippi during his second missionary voyage (Acts 16:16). Luke will now stay with Paul, not only traveling with him to Jerusalem, but joining the sea voyage to Rome. It appears that Luke will also be with Paul during his second and final imprisonment in Rome (2 Timothy 4:11).

The team will spend a week at Troas. On the first day of the week, Paul will meet with the church and preach long into the night. A young man named Eutychus will try to get fresh air by sitting by the window. When Paul keeps preaching, Eutychus falls asleep and then falls out the window to his death. Paul will raise him back to life, take a meal which likely includes communion, and start preaching again. When the sun rises, Paul and his companions continue on their way (Acts 20:7–12).
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