Bible Strands
Acts 20:28
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the elders of the Ephesian church at Miletus, having just declared he withheld nothing of God's will (v. 27) and warning that false teachers will follow after his departure (v. 29).
The words — προσέχετε (prosechete), "do take heed," is the governing imperative, and ποιμνίῳ (poimniō), "flock," names the church as a herd under a shepherd's charge.
The thread — 1 Timothy 4:16 pairs self-watch with teaching; 1 Peter 5:2 repeats the shepherding command with the added note "not out of compulsion, but willingly"; 1 Peter 1:18 supplies the redemption-by-blood logic that undergirds the verse's closing phrase.
Why it lands — The verse makes the overseer's own spiritual life a prerequisite for guarding others, and it prices the church at the highest cost: Christ's own blood.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 5:2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
- 1 Timothy 4:16 Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
- 1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- 1 Timothy 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
- Jeremiah 3:15 Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
- Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
- Psalms 78:70 He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- 1 Corinthians 10:32 Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—
- Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.