· Translation: KJV

Acts 20:9A certain young man named Eutychus sat in the window, weighed down with deep sleep. As Paul spoke still longer, being weighed down by his sleep, he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead.

The setting

Troas (modern-day Turkey), ~57 AD. Third floor room lit by oil lamps, packed with believers. Paul preaching past midnight...

The emotion here: matter-of-fact documentation of human frailty

The original word

katapherō (καταφερόμενος) — being overcome, literally 'carried down' by sleep

Why it matters

Third-story windows had no glass, just shutters — sitting there was dangerous even when awake

Read with care

What most readers miss in Acts 20:9

This wasn't just drowsiness — Luke uses medical terminology suggesting deep, irresistible sleep

Common misconceptionPeople assume Eutychus was just bored or disrespectful. Luke's medical language suggests he was fighting genuine physical exhaustion.

Bible Genome reading

Acts 20:9 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerLuke
Eraearly_church
Primary emotionresting
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power20%
Quotability50%
Memorability70%
Crisis relevance40%
Standalone60%
Themes:human weaknessdrowsinesspreaching length

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Acts 20

Acts 20:9 comes from the book of Acts, written during the early_church period. These words are attributed to Luke. The dominant emotion in this verse is resting, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is conversational. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include human weakness, drowsiness, preaching length. Notable phrases: Eutychus; deep sleep; sat in the window.

Your reflection

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