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Then Paul went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. And after speaking until daybreak, he departed.
Acts 20:11 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB When he had gone up, and had broken bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long while, even until break of day, he departed.
  • KJV When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
  • NKJV Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.
  • NASB When Paul had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left.
  • NLT Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Paul returns upstairs, breaks bread, eats, and keeps teaching until dawn before departing. Fellowship and the word continue even after the miracle.

Overview

Far from ending the gathering, the restoration of Eutychus deepens it, as Paul resumes the meal and his teaching through the night. The breaking of bread again likely points to the Lord's Supper and shared fellowship. The scene shows a hunger for God's word and a community treasuring its last hours with the apostle before he sails on.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Acts 20:7On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.
  • Acts 20:9And a certain young man named Eutychus, seated in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 20:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 20:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.