Acts 20:18–35

¹⁸When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you,^c from the first day I came into the province of Asia.^{d 19}I served the Lord with great humility and with tears^e and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.^{f 20}You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything^g that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹I have declared to both Jews^h and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentanceⁱ and have faith in our Lord Jesus.^j

²²“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem,^k not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me^l that prison and hardships are facing me.^{m 24}However, I consider my life worth nothing to me;ⁿ my only aim is to finish the race^o and complete the task^p the Lord Jesus has given me^q—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.^r

²⁵“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom^s will ever see me again.^{t 26}Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.^{u 27}For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.^{v 28}Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock^w of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.^x Be shepherds of the church of God,^ay which he bought^z with his own blood.^{ba 29}I know that after I leave, savage wolves^b will come in among you and will not spare the flock.^{c 30}Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples^d after them. ³¹So be on your guard! Remember that for three years^e I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.^f

³²“Now I commit you to God^g and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance^h among all those who are sanctified.^{i 33}I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.^{j 34}You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.^{k 35}In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”