Acts 20:37

And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
they	ἱκανὸς hikanos	G2425	competent (as if coming in season) · adjective — nominative singular masculine
all	πάντων, pantōn	G3956	all · adjective — genitive plural masculine
wept	ἐγένετο egeneto	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
sore	κλαυθμὸς klauthmos	G2805	lamentation · noun — nominative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
fell	ἐπιπεσόντες epipesontes	G1968	to embrace (with affection) or seize (with more or less… · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
on	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
Paul’s	Παύλου Paulou	G3972	(little · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
neck	τράχηλον trachēlon	G5137	the throat (neck) · noun — accusative singular masculine
kissed	κατεφίλουν katephiloun	G2705	to kiss earnestly · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
him	αὐτόν, auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Timothy 1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his…
Romans 16:16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.
1 Corinthians 16:20 All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.
2 Corinthians 13:12 Greet one another with an holy kiss.
1 Thessalonians 5:26 Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any…
Genesis 45:14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 20:36–end

After the parting sermon that Paul preached to the elders of Ephesus, which was very affecting, we have here the parting prayer and tears, which were yet more affecting; we can scarcely read the account here given of them, and meditate upon them with dry eyes. I. They parted with prayer (Act 20:36): And, when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And, no doubt, it was a prayer every way suited to the present mournful occasion. He committed them to God in this prayer, prayed that he would not leave them, but continue his presence with them. 1. It was a joint prayer. He not only prayed for them, but prayed with them, prayed with them all; that they might put up the sam…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 20:36

he kneeled down and prayed with them all, &c.--Nothing can be more touching than these three concluding verses, leaving an indelible impression of rare ministerial fidelity and affection on the apostle's part, and of warm admiration and attachment on the part of these Ephesian presbyters. Would to God that such scenes were more frequent in the Church! Next: Acts Chapter 21

Adam Clarke on Acts 20:37

Fell on Paul's neck - Leaned their heads against his shoulders, and kissed his neck. This was not an unusual custom in the east.

John Gill on Acts 20:37

And they all wept sore,.... At the thoughts of parting with such a faithful and affectionate friend and servant of Christ; and no doubt but their affections were greatly moved by his prayers for them, as well as by his discourse to them. Christians are not Stoics, religion does not take away and destroy the natural affections, but regulates and governs them, and directs to a right use of them: and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him; as Esau fell on Jacob's neck and kissed him, Genesis 33:4 and Joseph on his brother Benjamin's, and his father Jacob's, Genesis 45:14. And it was usual with the eastern nations, particularly the Persians (l), for friends and relations to kiss at parting, as well…

The Church Fathers

"And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more." He had said, that "grievous wolves should enter in;" had said, "I am pure from the blood of all men:" and yet the thing that grieved them most of all was this, "that they should see him no more:" since indeed it was this that made the war grievous. "And they fell on his neck," it says, "and wept." He shows their affection also by saying, "Upon his neck," as taking a last and yet a last embrace, such was the love they conceived from his discourse, such the spell of love that bound them. For if we groan when simply parting from each other, although we know that we shall receive one another back again, what a tearing away of themselves it must have been to them!
— John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 45

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Communion Of Saints · Exemplified: Paul — Exemplified: Paul
Ephesus · Paul visits and preaches in — Paul visits and preaches in
Kiss · Of affection — Of affection
Miletus · addresses them at — addresses them at
Travellers · Friends of: Frequently took leave of them with sorrow — Friends of: Frequently took leave of them with sorrow

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Acts 20:37

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 20:36–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 20:36

Adam Clarke on Acts 20:37

John Gill on Acts 20:37

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 20:37

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 20:36–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 20:36

Adam Clarke on Acts 20:37

John Gill on Acts 20:37

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 20:33–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 20:35