Limitless Word
These men, going ahead, waited for us at Troas.
Acts 20:5 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB But these had gone ahead, and were waiting for us at Troas.
  • KJV These going before tarried for us at Troas.
  • BSB These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas.
  • NASB Now these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas.
  • NLT They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.

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

These companions go ahead and wait for the group at Troas. The narrative resumes the first-person "we," showing Luke has rejoined Paul.

Overview

The reappearance of "us" signals that Luke, the author, is again traveling with Paul, lending eyewitness reliability to the account. The companions arrange to meet at Troas, a key port linking Asia and Europe. Such careful, ordinary coordination underlies the spread of the gospel, which advances through real people in real places under God's guidance.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Acts 16:8Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
  • 2 Tim 4:13Bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus when you come, and the books, especially the parchments.
  • 2 Cor 2:12Now when I came to Troas for the Good News of Christ, and when a door was opened to me in the Lord,
  • Acts 16:10–11When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.
  • Acts 20:13–15But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there; for he had so arranged, intending himself to go by land.
  • Acts 20:6–8We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas in five days, where we stayed seven days.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 20:5YouTube · 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 20:5 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.