Acts 20:17

 Acts 20:17

And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

a. NLT: But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: And from Miletus, having sent to Ephesus, he called for the elders of the assembly, [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.] 

d. Classic Amplified: However, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church [to come to him there]. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e.NIV: From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

1. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.

a. And [Strong: 1161. de deh a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. from [Strong: 575. apo apo' a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative):--(X here-)after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for(-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-)on(-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.]

c. Miletus [Strong: 3399. Miletos mil'-ay-tos of uncertain origin; Miletus, a city of Asia Minor:--Miletus.] 

d. [he] sent [Strong: 3992. pempo pem'-po apparently a primary verb; to dispatch (from the subjective view or point of departure, whereas hiemi (as a stronger form of eimi) refers rather to the objective point or terminus ad quem, and 4724 denotes properly, the orderly motion involved), especially on a temporary errand; also to transmit, bestow, or wield:--send, thrust in.]

e. to Strong: 1519. eis ice a primary preposition; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etc.); also in adverbial phrases:--(abundant-)ly, against, among, as, at, (back-)ward, before, by, concerning, + continual, + far more exceeding, for (intent, purpose), fore, + forth, in (among, at, unto, -so much that, -to), to the intent that, + of one mind, + never, of, (up-)on, + perish, + set at one again, (so) that, therefore(-unto), throughout, til, to (be, the end, -ward), (here-)until(-to), ...ward, (where-)fore, with. Often used in composition with the same general import, but only with verbs (etc.) expressing motion (literally or figuratively).]

f. Ephesus [Strong: 2181. Ephesos ef'-es-os probably of foreign origin; Ephesus, a city of Asia Minor:--Ephesus.]

g. [and] called [Strong: 3333. metakaleo met-ak-al-eh'-o from 3326 and 2564; to call elsewhere, i.e. summon:--call (for, hither).]

h. the [Strong: 3588. [tous] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tous] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé  hē, hai.]

i. elders [Strong: 4245. presbuteros pres-boo'-ter-os comparative of presbus (elderly); older; as noun, a senior; specially, an Israelite Sanhedrist (also figuratively, member of the celestial council) or Christian "presbyter":-- elder(-est), old.]

1). Robert A Tourville: Acts of the Apostles: The “elders” (presbuterous) here are called “overseerers” (episkopous) or bishops in Acts 20:28. They are told to shepherd the church which indicates the work of a pastor. Thus elders, presbyters (the Greek transliterated), overseers, bishops, shepherds, and pastors are the same with different views of the person, office, or function.  

j. [of] the [Strong: 3588. [tēs] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tēs] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé  hē, hai.]

k. Church [Strong: 1577. ekklesia ek-klay-see'-ah from a compound of 1537 and a derivative of 2564; a calling out, i.e. (concretely) a popular meeting, especially a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Christian community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both):--assembly, church.]

1). Robert A Tourville: Acts of the Apostles: The apostle could not bear passing Ephesus without some communication with them. Paul could afford to spend but a few days in Miletus. Ship travel would be plentiful at this time, so Paul probably asked Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia to take a boat to Ephesus, gather the elders and ask them to come to him before his departure to Jerusalem.