Bible Strands
Acts 21:11
Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Agabus, a prophet from Judea, approaches Paul and his traveling companions during their extended stay in Caesarea and performs a physical act before delivering a message from the Holy Spirit.
The words — The text highlights ἄρας (aras), meaning "having taken," and ζώνην (zōnēn), meaning "belt," as Agabus physically seizes Paul’s garment to enact his prophecy.
The thread — The text records Agabus binding himself to symbolize Paul’s future captivity, a prophetic pattern seen when Jeremiah used a linen loincloth to signify Judah’s fate (Jeremiah 13:1) and realized when Roman soldiers bound Paul with chains (Acts 21:33).
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to recognize that prophetic warning does not cancel Paul’s journey, but it does demand sober preparation for the suffering that follows obedience.
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 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.
Cross-references
- Acts 21:33 The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.
- 1 Samuel 15:27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore.
- Jeremiah 13:1 This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.”
- 1 Kings 11:29 During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field.
- 1 Kings 22:11 Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
- 2 Kings 13:15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows.
- Jeremiah 19:10 Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you,
- Ezekiel 24:19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”
- Acts 20:23 I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.
- Hosea 12:10 I spoke through the prophets and multiplied their visions; I gave parables through the prophets.