Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 20:38

"sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way unto the ship." — Acts 20:38 (ASV)

When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with the Ephesian elders and prayed with them. On the basis of the parallels between this farewell address and Paul’s letters, the substance of what he prayed for can be found in such places as Eph 1:15–23; Php 1:3–11; Colossians 1:3–14; and 1 Thessalonians 1:2–3; 3:11–13; 5:23–24. After a deeply affectionate and sorrowful farewell with tears on both sides,

Paul and his traveling companions boarded the ship.