Acts 20:22
in Acts 20And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
KJV
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
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This verse in Acts 20
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"I am bound by the Spirit." The word "bound" should be separated by a comma, so that the following meaning emerges: I go to Jerusalem, being bound, not having learned beforehand from the Spirit what will happen to me. It is remarkable that the prophets …
This site's exposition
compelled by the Spirit
on Acts 20:22-24
The Spirit compels Paul to Jerusalem while warning in town after town that chains and afflictions await him. He counts his life of no value if only he may finish his course. He answers the disciples at Caesarea in chapter 21 the same way.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Didymus the BlindCATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.22 · Written before 398.
proposed
The one who has been united to the Holy Spirit has been bound in him so that he does not separate from the Spirit in any way. The person of such a disposition is a captive of Christ whose Spirit he has. For if whoever …
To what end, then, sayest thou these things? to what end dost thou put them in mind of them? What has come of it? hast thou anything to lay to their charge? Having first alarmed their feeling, then he adds, "And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me." Wherefore says he this? By way of preparing them to be always ready to meet dangers, whether seen or unseen, and in all things to obey the Spirit. He shows that it is for great objects that he is led away from them. "Save that the Holy Ghost," he says, me, "in every city witnesseth to me saying"-to show that he departs willingly; that you may not imagine it any bond or necessity, when he says, "bound in the Spirit-that in every city bonds and afflictions await me."
"Not knowing," he says, "the things that shall befall me." Then is this why thou departest? By no means; on the contrary (I know that), "bonds and afflictions await me." That (there are) trials, I know, but of what kind I know not: which was more grievous.
Here, in the passage "bound," it is necessary to insert, so that either the mind be such: I am going to Jerusalem, having foreknowledge through the Spirit of the things that will be; and yet I go as a prisoner. Then, for fear that anyone …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Now it is worth while to enquire how he bore it. He was flesh and blood as well as other men; he was so, and yet by the grace of God he was enabled to go on with his work, and to look with a gracious and generous contempt upon all the difficulties and discouragements he met with in it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I go bound in the spirit - Δεδεμενος τῳ πνευματι - Either meaning the strong influence of the Divine Spirit upon his mind, or the strong propensity in his own will, wish, and desire, to visit Jerusalem; and in this sense δεειν, to bind, is sometimes used.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Bound in the spirit - Strongly urged or constrained by the influences of the Holy Spirit on my mind. Not by any desire to see the place where my fathers worshipped, and not urged merely by reason, but by the convictions and mighty promptings of the Holy Spirit to do my duty in this case. The expression “bound in the spirit” δεδεμένος τῷ πνεύματι dedemenos tō pneumati is one of great strength and emphasis. The word δέω deō, “to bind,” is usually applied to “confinement by cords, fetters, or bands” Mat 13:30; Mat 14:3; Mat 21:2; and then it denotes “any strong obligation” Rom 7:2, or “anything that strongly urges or impels,” Mat 21:2. When we are strongly urged by the convictions of duty, by the influences of the Holy Spirit, we should not shrink from danger or from death. Duty is to be done at all hazards. It is ours to follow the directions of God; results we may safely and confidently leave with him. Not knowing the things that shall befall me there - He knew that calamities and trials of some kind awaited him Act 20:23, but he did not know: (1) Of what particular kind they would be; nor, (2) Their issue, whether it would be life or death. We should commit our way unto God, not knowing what trials may be before us in life; but knowing that, if we are found faithful at the post of duty, we have nothing to fear in the result.
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| νῦν | nun | now | G3568 → | 145 times |
| ἰδοὺ | idou | behold | G2400 → | 200 times |
| δεδεμένος | dedemenos | bound | G1210 → | 43 times |
| ἐγὼ | ego | I myself | G1473 → | 839 times |
| τῷ | to | in the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πνεύματι | pneumati | Spirit | G4151 → | 378 times |
| πορεύομαι | poreuomai | go | G4198 → | 147 times |
| εἰς | eis | to | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| Ἰερουσαλὴμ | ierousalem | Jerusalem | G2419 → | 76 times |
| τὰ | ta | what | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| αὐτῇ | autea | it | G846 → | 5565 times |
| συναντήσοντά | sunantesonta | will happen | G4876 → | |
| μοι | moi | to me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| εἰδώς, | eidos | knowing, |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
νῦνnow
nunG3568 →145 times
ἰδοὺbehold
idouG2400 →200 times
δεδεμένοςbound
dedemenosG1210 →43 times
ἐγὼI myself
egoG1473 →839 times
τῷin the
toG3588 →19766 times
πνεύματιSpirit
pneumatiG4151 →378 times
πορεύομαιgo
poreuomaiG4198 →147 times
εἰςto
eisG1519 →1755 times
ἸερουσαλὴμJerusalem
ierousalemG2419 →76 times
τὰwhat
taG3588 →19766 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
αὐτῇit
auteaG846 →5565 times
συναντήσοντάwill happen
sunantesontaG4876 →
μοιto me
moiG3165 →1936 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
εἰδώς,knowing,
eidos
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 4:14You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:24
For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
- Psalms 39:5
You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
- 1 John 2:17
The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.
- Psalms 102:3
For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
- Job 7:6–7
My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
- 1 Peter 1:24
Through
2 Corinthians 5:14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.
it leads to
- Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved…
- Romans 14:7–9
For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.
- Matthew 10:37–38
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
- Galatians 2:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Acts

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Didymus the Blind, CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.22; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 44; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.
