Acts Chapter 20 verse 17 Holy Bible
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church.
read chapter 20 in ASV
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus for the rulers of the church.
read chapter 20 in BBE
But from Miletus having sent to Ephesus, he called over [to him] the elders of the assembly.
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And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
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read chapter 20 in WBT
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to himself the elders of the assembly.
read chapter 20 in WEB
And from Miletus, having sent to Ephesus, he called for the elders of the assembly,
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 17. - Called to him for called, A.V. The R.V. gives the force of the middle voice μετεκαλέσατο. The elders of the Church; viz. of Ephesus. These are manifestly the same as are called ἐπισκόπους in ver. 28, "overseers," or bishops. The distinctive names and functions of Church officers were not yet fixed; and the apostles themselves, aided by degrees by such as Timothy and Titus, were what we now call bishops, exercising oversight over the elders themselves as well as over the whole flock (see 1 Timothy 3:1). The diocesan episcopate came in gradually as the apostles died off, and the necessity for a regular episcopate arose (see Acts 6:1-6; Acts 14:23, etc.).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(17) And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.--We find, from Acts 20:28, that they were known also as episcopi ("bishops," or "overseers"), the two names being interchangeable at this period, and the Apostle standing in relation to those who bore them as the later Bishop did to the elders under him. (See Notes on Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:5-6; 1Peter 5:1-2.) The many presbyters represented probably, each of them, a distinct church or congregation. Most, if not all, of these must have been ordained by the Apostle himself. He had found them loyal, faithful, singularly receptive of the truth (Acts 20:20; Ephesians 3:4). He was passing, as he thought, to far-off regions, never to revisit them, and he was naturally anxious to give them parting words of counsel and of warning. . . .
