Bible Strands
Acts 20:3
where he stayed three months. And when the Jews formed a plot against him as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Paul’s itinerary after his arrival in Greece, specifying the duration of his stay and the reason for altering his planned departure route.
The words — The Greek construction γενομένης ἐπιβουλῆς (genomenēs epiboulēs) literally renders "a plot having been made," highlighting the completed action of the conspiracy against him.
The thread — The narrative of Jewish opposition and travel danger recurs in Acts 9:23, Acts 20:19, and 2 Corinthians 11:26.
Why it lands — The text states that Paul changed his travel plans due to a specific threat, requiring the reader to acknowledge that practical route adjustments respond directly to documented hostility rather than abstract planning.
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
And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.
Cross-references
- Acts 20:19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.
- 2 Corinthians 11:26 In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers,
- Acts 9:23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,
- Acts 25:3 to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
- 2 Corinthians 7:5 For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
- Ezra 8:31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way.
- Proverbs 1:11 If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Jeremiah 5:26 For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
- Acts 16:9 During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
- Acts 18:18 Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.