And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Parallel translations
- WEB Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there;
- BSB And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
- NKJV And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,
- NASB And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
- NLT “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Bound by the Spirit, Paul goes to Jerusalem not knowing what awaits him. He submits his future to God's leading despite uncertainty.
Overview
"Bound by the Spirit" expresses Paul's inner compulsion and obedience to God's direction, not a literal chain. He presses on though ignorant of the specific dangers ahead, trusting the One who calls him. Paul's surrender mirrors his Lord, who set His face toward Jerusalem and the cross in obedience to the Father's will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jas 4:14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
- 2 Cor 5:14For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
- 2 Pet 1:14Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
- Luke 18:31–33Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
- John 18:4Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
- Acts 17:16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
- Luke 9:51And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
- Acts 20:16For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
- Acts 21:11–14And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
- Luke 12:50But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
- Acts 19:21After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
- John 13:1Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 20:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.