Acts 20:19. δουλεύων: the word occurs six times in St. Paul’s Epistles of serving God, the Lord, Christ, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Romans 12:11 (R., margin, τῷ καιρῷ), Acts 14:18, Acts 16:18, Ephesians 6:7, Colossians 3:24 (once in Matthew and Luke, of serving God, Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13), and cf. St. Paul’s expression δοῦλος of himself, Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:10, Php 1:1, Titus 1:1.—μετὰ πάσης ταπεινοφ.: this use of πᾶς may be called eminently Pauline, cf. Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 1:8, Ephesians 4:2, Ephesians 6:18, 2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Corinthians 12:12, 1 Timothy 3:4; 2 Timothy 4:2, Titus 2:15; Titus 3:2 (see Hackett’s note). ταπειν., a word which may justly be called Pauline, as out of seven places in the N.T. it is used five times by St. Paul in his Epistles, and once in his address in the passage before us; Ephesians 4:2, Php 2:3, Colossians 2:18; Colossians 2:23; Colossians 3:12 (elsewhere, only in 1 Peter 5:5). It will be noted that it finds a place in three Epistles of the First Captivity, although used once disparagingly, Colossians 3:18. In pagan ethics ταπεινός was for the most part a depreciatory characteristic, although some few notable exceptions may be quoted, Trench, Synonyms, i., 171 ff. In the LXX and Apocrypha it has a high moral significance and is opposed to ὕβρις in all its forms. The noun is not found either in LXX or Apocrypha, and the adjective ταπεινόφρων (1 Peter 3:8) and the verb ταπεινοφρονεῖν (not in N.T.), although each found in LXX once, the former in Proverbs 29:23 and the latter in Psalm 130:2 (cf. instances in Aquila and Symmachus, Hatch and Redpath), cannot be traced in classical Greek before the Christian era, and then not in a laudatory sense. The noun occurs in Jos., B. J., iv., 9, 2, but in the sense of pusillanimity, and also in Epictet., Diss., iii., 24, 56, but in a bad sense (Grimm-Thayer). But for St. Paul as for St. Peter the life of Christ had conferred a divine honour upon all forms of lowliness and service, and every Christian was bidden to an imitation of One Who had said: πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, Lightfoot on Php 2:3; “Ethics” (T. B. Strong), Hastings’ B.D., i., 786; Cremer, Wörterbuch, sub v. ταπεινος.—δακρύων, cf. Acts 20:31, 2 Corinthians 2:4, Php 3:18. “Lachrymæ sanctæ … cum his tamen consistit gaudium”: Bengel. St. Paul was no Stoic, for whom ἀπάθεια was a virtue, the accompaniment of wisdom and the passport to perfection; see Romans 12:15 : “in every age the Christian temper has shivered at the touch of Stoic apathy”. Here the word refers not to the Apostle’s outward trials which were rather a source of joy, but to his sorrow of heart for his brethren and for the world, ἔπασχε γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀπολλυμένων, Chrysostom.—πειρασμῶν, cf. St. Paul’s own words, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, Php 1:27, 2 Corinthians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 6:4-10, 2 Corinthians 11:26, κινδύνοις ἐκ γενους (Galatians 4:14). In our Lord’s own life and ministry there had been “temptations,” Luke 4:13; Luke 22:28; and a beatitude rested upon the man who endured temptation, Jam 1:12; Jam 1:2. The noun is found no less than six times in St. Luke’s Gospel, but only here in Acts. It occurs four times in St. Paul’s Epistles, and may be fairly classed as Lucan-Pauline (Bethge). On its use in N.T. and LXX see Hatch, Essays in Biblical Greek, p. 71 ff., and compare Mayor, Epistle of St. James, Jam 1:2.—ἐπιβ. τῶν Ἰ.: evidently classed amongst the πειρασμῶν, Hatch, u. s., although we must not suppose that St. Luke tells us of all the Apostle’s dangers, trials and temptations here any more than elsewhere. Nothing of the kind is mentioned in connection definitely with the Ephesian Jews, “sed res minime dubia, Acts 21:27,” Blass. The noun has not been found in any classical author, but it occurs in Dioscorides, Præf., i., see Grimm, sub v., and several times in LXX, six times in Ecclus. and in 1Ma 2:52.

19. serving … humility of mind] The Rev. Ver. here has “lowliness of mind,” as the word is rendered Php 2:3, but the version is not consistent, for the same rendering is not kept (Colossians 3:12) where it might just as well have been. Probably the translators of 1611 did not like the collocation all lowliness. St Paul is careful to point out that the service in which he spent himself was done unto the Lord as His Apostle.

and with many tears] The oldest authorities omit “many.” The adjective is a comment from the statement in Acts 20:31. In 2 Corinthians 2:4 St Paul says “I wrote unto you with many tears.”

and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews] The old sense of “temptation” is lost. Read (with Rev. Ver.) “and with trials … by the plots of the Jews. We could only see in the account of the tumult at Ephesus that there were some indications that the Jewish population were anxious to make it plain that they had no sympathy with the Apostle who was so obnoxious to the Gentiles. Here we have an express declaration made before those who knew all the circumstances that plots had been laid against Paul’s life by the Jews. It did not fall in with St Luke’s purpose to tell us of them, but he manifestly knew about them, for he feels no difficulty in recording the Apostle’s own mention of them here, nor has he a thought that his narrative will be held for other than true, though men may point out here an allusion to events of which he had made no mention before. We cannot too often bear in mind that the book is not meant for a history of either one or other Apostle, but a record of how the course of the Gospel was guided according to Christ’s injunction, “beginning at Jerusalem” and ending when an Apostle had proclaimed Christ in the Imperial capital.

Acts 20:19. Δουλεύων, serving) A noble idea of the servant of the Lord.—τῶ Κυρίῳ) the Lord, whose is the Church.—μετὰ, with) Humility of mind, tears, and temptations, are the concomitants (of service): the act of serving itself is described in the foll. verse.—ταπεινοφροσύνης, humility of mind) This he recommends to the Ephesians also in Ephesians 4:2, “with all lowliness,” ταπεινοφροσύνης.—δακρύων, tears) Acts 20:31; 2 Corinthians 2:4; Php 3:18. A characteristic trait of Paul. Holy tears shed by men and heroes, who seldom if ever weep for things in the ordinary course of nature, furnish a specimen of the efficacy, and an argument for the truth, of Christianity. Yet joy is compatible with these tears: Acts 20:24. Add the note, Acts 20:37.—πειρασμῶν, temptations) The plots of the Jews in various ways truly tried and exercised the mind of Paul.—τῶν Ἰουδαίων, of the Jews) The apostle of the Gentiles speaks of them now as if they were alien (foreigners) to him.

Verse 19. - Lowliness for humility, A.V.; tears for many tears, A.V. and T.R.; with trials for temptations, A.V.; plots for lying in wait, A.V. Plots (ἐπιβουλαῖς); comp. ver. 3, and note. There is no special account of Jewish plots in St. Luke's narrative of St. Paul's sojourn at Ephesus. But from Acts 19:9, 13, and probably 33, we may gather how hostile the unbelieving Jews were to him. Acts 20:19Acts 20:19 Interlinear
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