Acts 21:11

11 And he came to us and took Paul's belt. Tying up his own feet and hands, he said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will deliver [him] into the hands of the Gentiles.'"

Acts 21:11 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 21:11

And when he was come unto us
In Philip's house:

he took Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet;
and so prophesied by types and symbols, and gestures, as the prophets of old did; as Isaiah in ( Isaiah 20:2 Isaiah 20:3 ) and Jeremiah in ( Jeremiah 13:1-9 ) ( Jeremiah 27:2 Jeremiah 27:3 ) , and Ezekiel in ( Ezekiel 4:1-13 ) ( Ezekiel 12:3 Ezekiel 12:7 ) and Hosea in ( Hosea 1:2 Hosea 1:3 ) , some understand this of his binding Paul's hands and feet, but it seems rather to design his own:

and said, thus saith the Holy Ghost;
who was in Agabus, and spoke by him, and foretold some things to come to pass; and which did come to pass, and is a proof of the foreknowledge, and so of the deity of the blessed Spirit:

so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this girdle;
meaning Paul, and who accordingly was bound in like manner, a very little time after this; see ( Acts 21:33 )

and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles;
the Romans, as they afterwards did.

Acts 21:11 In-Context

9 ({Now this man had} four virgin daughters who prophesied.)

10 And [while we] were staying [there] many days, a certain prophet {named} Agabus came down from Judea.

11 And he came to us and took Paul's belt. Tying up his own feet and hands, he said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will deliver [him] into the hands of the Gentiles.'"

12 And when we heard these [things], both we and the local residents urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

13 Then Paul replied, "What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus!"

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation