Acts 20:5
in Acts 20These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas.
KJV
These going before tarried for us at Troas.
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This verse in Acts 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBut that this Luke was inseparable from Paul, and his fellow-labourer in the Gospel, he himself clearly evinces, not as a matter of boasting, but as bound to do so by the truth itself.
This site's exposition
tarried for us at Troas
on Acts 20:5-6
These going before tarried for us at Troas: the pronoun shifts back to we, and Luke rejoins the company he had left at Philippi in chapter sixteen, the second of the we-passages resuming after a gap of some years. They sailed from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came to Troas in five days, a slow crossing against the spring winds, and stayed seven days, long enough for the church there to gather on the Lord’s day before Paul’s ship sailed on. Ramsay reads the resumed pronoun as Luke’s own signature of presence, the eyewitness claim carried in grammar rather than asserted outright.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas." But how does he call Timothy a man "of Thessalonica?" This is not his meaning, but, "Of Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus and Gaius: of Derbe, Timothy," etc., these, he says, went before him to Troas, preparing the way for him.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), designing to go along with him to Jerusalem, as Trophimus particularly did, ch. xxi. We should not think it hard to stay awhile for good company in a journey. Paul made the best of his way thither; and, it should seem, Luke was now in company with him; for he says We sailed from Philippi (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
These going before,.... The apostle into Asia, all but Sopater, who accompanied him: tarried for us at Troas; a city in Asia Minor; see Act 16:8 whither they went before hand a nearer way, to provide for the apostle, and where they waited for him, and for Sopater, and for Luke, the writer of this history, who appears from hence to be in company with the apostle, and for as many others as were along with him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
These going before - Going before Paul and Luke. Dr. Doddridge supposes that only Tychicus and Trophimus went before the others. Perhaps the Greek most naturally demands this interpretation. Tarried for us - The word “us,” here, shows that Luke had again joined Paul as his companion. In Act 16:12 it appears that Luke was in Philippi, in the house of Lydia. Why he remained there, or why he did not attend Paul in his journey to Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, etc., is not known. It is evident, however, that he here joined him again.
Tarried for us at Troas - See the preceding verse. Troas was a small town in Phrygia Minor, in the province called the Troad: see Act 16:8.
The words behind it
7 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οὗτοι | houtoi | These | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| δὲ | de | also | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| προελθόντες | proelthontes | having gone ahead | G4281 → | 9 times |
| ἔμενον | emenon | were awaiting | G3306 → | 118 times |
| ἡμᾶς | hemas | us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| Τρῳάδι· | troadi | Troas; | G5174 → | 6 times |
οὗτοιThese
houtoiG3778 →1381 times
δὲalso
deG1161 →2765 times
προελθόντεςhaving gone ahead
proelthontesG4281 →9 times
ἔμενονwere awaiting
emenonG3306 →118 times
ἡμᾶςus
hemasG3165 →1936 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
Τρῳάδι·Troas;
troadiG5174 →6 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 2:12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord,
it leads to
- Acts 16:8
So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 14:27
When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
- Colossians 4:3
as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
- Revelation 3:7–8
To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut,…
- 1 Corinthians 16:9
because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.
- Acts 16:8
Through
Acts 16:8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
it leads to
- Acts 16:11
We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Timothy 4:13
When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
- 2 Corinthians 2:12
Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord,
- Acts 16:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book III, Chapter 14, Section 1; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 43; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.