I · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular
go
πορεύομαιporeuomai
G4198
to traverse · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 1st person singular
bound
δεδεμένοςdedemenos
G1210
to bind (in various applications · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative singular masculine
spirit
πνεύματιpneumati
G4151
a current of air · noun — dative singular neuter
unto
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
Jerusalem
ἸερουσαλὴμIerousalēm
G2419
Hierusalem (i.e. Jerushalem) · noun — accusative singular feminine, a place
not
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
knowing
εἴδωeídō
G1492
used only in certain past tenses
things
τῷtō
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — dative singular neuter
that
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
befall
συναντήσοντάsunantēsonta
G4876
to meet with · verb — future active participle, accusative plural neuter
me
μοίmoí
G3427
to me
there
αὐτῇautēa
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vani…
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Luke 18:31-33 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concern…
2 Peter 1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
Luke 9:51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
Luke 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 20:17-35
It should seem the ship Paul and his companions were embarked in for Jerusalem attended him on purpose, and staid or moved as he pleased; for when he came to Miletus, he went ashore, and tarried thee so long as to send for the elders of Ephesus to come to him thither; for if he had gone up to Ephesus, he could never have got away from them. These elders, or presbyters, some think, were those twelve who received the Holy Ghost by Paul's hands, Act 19:6. But, besides these, it is probable that Timothy had ordained other elders there for the service of that church, and the country about; these Paul sent for, that he might instruct and encourage them to go on in the work to which they had laid t…
And now, behold, I--"I" is emphatic here.
bound in the spirit--compare Act 19:21. This internal pressure, unattended with any knowledge of "what was to befall him there," was the result of that higher guidance which shaped all his movements.
Adam Clarke on Acts 20:22
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. But it appears more consistent with the mind of the apostle, and with that influence under which we find that he constantly acted, to refer it to the influence of the Holy Ghost; ὑπο του πνευματος, being under the power of that Spirit; as if he had said: "I have now no choice - God has not left me either to the advices of friends, or to my own prudence: the Spirit of God obliges me to go to Jerusalem, and yet does not intimate to me what…
And now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,.... Not in his own spirit, though the Ethiopic version reads, "in my spirit"; as if he was pressed and straitened, and troubled within himself, at what afflictions and bonds he was to endure at Jerusalem; for this is not consistent with what he says in Acts 20:24 nor is the sense, that he was bound in conscience and duty to go to Jerusalem, to carry the collections of the churches made for the poor saints there, which the Gentile churches importuned him to take upon him, and which he undertook, and promised to perform, and so was under obligation to do it; but rather that he was resolved and determined in his own mind, within himself,…
The Church Fathers
"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 suppose it is bondage or compulsion, and to show that he departs willingly, he says that "in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me." "I am innocent," he says, "of the blood of all men," if you, being drowsy, perish because of the murderer of souls; for of the teacher, he says, For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore he who does not speak is responsible for their blood, that is, for their slaughter. He therefore shows that even those who do not act would be responsible for that same blood; and on that account he exhorts them.
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."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bishop — An overseer. In apostolic times, it is quite manifest that there was no difference as to order between bishops and elders or presbyters (Acts 20:17-28; 1 Pet. 5:1, 2; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3). The term…
Elder — A name frequently used in the Old Testament as denoting a person clothed with authority, and entitled to respect and reverence (Gen. 50:7). It also denoted a political office (Num. 22:7). The “elders…
Ephesians, Epistle to — Was written by Paul at Rome about the same time as that to the Colossians, which in many points it resembles. Contents of. The Epistle to the Colossians is mainly polemical, designed to refute…
Ephesus — The capital of proconsular Asia, which was the western part of Asia Minor. It was colonized principally from Athens. In the time of the Romans it bore the title of “the first and greatest metropolis…
Miletus — (Miletum, 2 Tim. 4:20), a seaport town and the ancient capital of Ionia, about 36 miles south of Ephesus. On his voyage from Greece to Syria, Paul touched at this port, and delivered that noble and…
Paul — =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy “for use in the Gentile world,” as “Saul” would be…
Afflicted Saints · Examples of afflicted Saints:: Paul — Examples of afflicted Saints:: Paul
Ephesus · Paul visits and preaches in — Paul visits and preaches in
Miletus · addresses them at — addresses them at
Self-Denial · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Acts 20:22-27
22. And, behold, I go now bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what things shall befall me there: 23. Save only that the Holy Ghost doth witness throughout every city, saying that bonds and afflictions are prepared for me. 24. But I care not, neither is my life dear to me, that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 25. And now, behold, I know that after this ye shall not see my face, all you through whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God. 26. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am clean from the blood of all men. 27. For I have kept nothing back, but have…
Paul’s address to the elders of the church of Ephesus is a testimony regarding his life and ministry in Ephesus, calling for similar dedication from the leaders who would carry on the ministry. The sermon highlights Paul’s integrity and pastoral care (20:18-21, 26, 31), speaks about the future (20:22-23, 25, 29-30), warns against false teachers (20:29-30), and exhorts the elders to be watchful and faithful (20:28, 31). Paul modeled sacrificial, conscientious, servant leadership.
