Passage

Acts 20.7

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

5. But these had gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas. 6. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we tarried seven days.

7. And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.

And there were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered together. 9. And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. (Acts 20:5-9, ASV)

WEB

5. But these had gone ahead, and were waiting for us at Troas. 6. We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas in five days, where we stayed seven days.

7. On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight.

There were many lights in the upper room where we were gathered together. 9. A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third floor, and was taken up dead. (Acts 20:5-9, WEB)

KJV

5. These going before tarried for us at Troas. 6. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

7. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. 9. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. (Acts 20:5-9, KJV)

YLT

5. these, having gone before, did remain for us in Troas, 6. and we sailed, after the days of the unleavened food, from Philippi, and came unto them to Troas in five days, where we abode seven days.

7. And on the first of the week, the disciples having been gathered together to break bread, Paul was discoursing to them, about to depart on the morrow, he was also continuing the discourse till midnight,

and there were many lamps in the upper chamber where they were gathered together, 9. and there was sitting a certain youth, by name Eutychus, upon the window, being borne down by a deep sleep, Paul discoursing long, he having sunk down from the sleep, fell down from the third story, and was lifted up dead. (Acts 20:5-9, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Luke, as narrator
Audience: Theophilus and Luke's readers
Location: Troas, in a third-storey upper room
Time period: c. AD 57, on Paul's final journey to Jerusalem

Theological reading

And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them.

The verse is one of the earliest indications that Christians gathered on the first day of the week, and it is stronger evidence than most single verses because the detail is incidental. Luke is not arguing for Sunday observance; he is explaining why Paul, who was leaving the next day, was still talking at midnight.

Read alongside 1 Corinthians 16:2, where Paul instructs the Corinthians to set money aside on the first day, and Revelation 1:10 with its reference to the Lord's day, a consistent early pattern emerges, and it precedes any imperial legislation by well over two centuries.

Breaking bread here most naturally denotes a shared meal with the Lord's Supper within it, since verse 11 has Paul breaking bread and eating after the Eutychus incident, which suggests an actual meal rather than a purely liturgical act.

Note also the we. Verse 6 has entered one of the passages where Luke's narration switches to first person, which continues through the voyage to Jerusalem. Whatever one concludes about their origin, the we-sections mark the points at which the narrator places himself in the events, and they cluster around travel details that have proven accurate.

The scene ends with a young man falling from a window during a long sermon, which the church has found relatable ever since.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G3056 - logos, logos, Strong's G3056

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.