Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
How that I shrank not (wv ouden upesteilamen). Still indirect discourse (question) after epistasqe (ye know) with wv like pwv in verse Acts 20:18. First aorist middle of upostellw, old verb to draw under or back. It was so used of drawing back or down sails on a ship and, as Paul had so recently been on the sea, that may be the metaphor here. But it is not necessarily so as the direct middle here makes good sense and is frequent, to withdraw oneself, to cower, to shrink, to conceal, to dissemble as in Habakkuk 2:4 (Hebrews 10:38). Demosthenes so used it to shrink from declaring out of fear for others. This open candour of Paul is supported by his Epistles (I Thessalonians 2:4, I Thessalonians 2:11; II Corinthians 4:2; Galatians 1:10).
From declaring unto you (tou mh anaggeilai umin). Ablative case of the articular first aorist active infinitive of anaggellw with the redundant negative after verbs of hindering, etc. (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1094).
Anything that was profitable (twn sumferontwn). Partitive genitive after ouden of the articular present active participle of sumferw, to bear together, be profitable.
Publicly (dhmosiai, adverb)
and from house to house (kai kat oikouv). By (according to) houses. It is worth noting that this greatest of preachers preached from house to house and did not make his visits merely social calls. He was doing kingdom business all the while as in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (I Corinthians 16:19).
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Acts 20:20:
Acts 14:22
Acts 16:37
Acts 20:23
Acts 20:27
2 Corinthians 2:4
Galatians 2:12
Hebrews 10:38
Revelation 2:1
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
