Bible Strands
Acts 20:22
And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul speaks to the Ephesian elders during his final journey, declaring his imminent arrival in Jerusalem after completing his work in Asia.
The words — δεδεμένῳ (dedemēnō) literally means "bound," and πνεύματι (pneumati) means "Spirit," forming the direct phrase "bound in the Spirit."
The thread — The text explicitly links to the Spirit's warnings of chains in Acts 20:23, aligns with the uncertainty of human plans in James 4:14, and parallels the divine compulsion noted in 2 Corinthians 5:14.
Why it lands — It requires a reader to acknowledge that divine direction overrides personal safety and to move forward without demanding knowledge of future outcomes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:
Cross-references
- James 4:14 You 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.
- 2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.
- Luke 18:31 Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.
- 2 Peter 1:14 because I know that this tent will soon be laid aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
- Luke 9:51 As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
- Luke 12:50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
- John 18:4 Jesus, knowing all that was coming upon Him, stepped forward and asked them, “Whom are you seeking?”
- Acts 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
- Acts 19:21 After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.”
- Acts 20:16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.