What is bound in the Spirit?
In Acts 20:22, Paul was at a critical phase of his public ministry toward the end of his third journey. Traveling with a group of eight companions including Luke, he was carrying the collection from Gentile believers to Christians in Jerusalem. At Miletus Paul summoned the Ephesian elders, and there he delivered the speech found in Acts 20:18–35. In the midst of his speech we find a verse that the NIV translates: “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem” (v. 22); the NLT translates the first clause, “And now, as a captive to the Spirit.…” Both the Louw and Nida and the Thayer lexicons suggest “compel” as a legitimate translation for δέω, thus giving a metaphorical sense to the verb. The verb δέω in its literal sense continues as an important catchword in Acts. In 21:11 the prophet Agabus came down from Jerusalem to Caesarea to meet Paul. Binding (δήσας) his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt, he declared, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jer