And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
Parallel translations
- WEB Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there;
- KJV And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall 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,
- 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 you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
- 2 Cor 5:14For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.
- 2 Pet 1:14knowing that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
- Luke 18:31–33He took the twelve aside, and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed.
- John 18:4Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were happening to him, went out, and said to them, “Who are you looking for?”
- Acts 17:16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols.
- Luke 9:51It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem,
- Acts 20:16For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for him, to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
- Acts 21:11–14Coming to us, and taking Paul’s belt, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit: ‘So will the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
- Luke 12:50But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
- Acts 19:21Now after these things had ended, Paul determined 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, Jesus, knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
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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.