For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
Parallel translations
- WEB For this cause therefore I asked to see you and to speak with you. For because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”
- BSB So for this reason I have called to see you and speak with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
- NKJV For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”
- NASB For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, since I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”
- NLT I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel—the Messiah—has already come.”
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
Paul says he is chained for 'the hope of Israel.' His imprisonment is bound up with the message of the resurrection in Christ.
Overview
Paul reveals the true reason for his summons and his chains: the hope of Israel, the promised Messiah and the resurrection of the dead now fulfilled in Jesus. He frames his gospel not as a departure from Israel's faith but as its very fulfillment. The 'hope of Israel' is Christ, in whom all the promises find their yes (2 Cor. 1:20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Acts 26:6–7And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:
- 2 Tim 2:9Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
- Eph 6:20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
- Phil 1:13So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
- Acts 26:29And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
- Acts 23:6But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
- Acts 24:15And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
- Eph 4:1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
- Acts 21:33Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
- Eph 3:1For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
- Phlm 1:10I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:
- Acts 10:33Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
- Col 4:18The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
- 2 Tim 1:10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
- Phlm 1:13Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:
- Acts 28:17And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.
- Acts 10:29Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 28:20 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.