Acts 28:20

For this cause therefore did I entreat you to see and to speak with me: for because of the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

For the hope of Israel ... "By this, Paul meant that the Christian faith was the true fulfillment of the hope of God's people."[23] Throughout his speeches and epistles, Paul ever insisted upon the identity of the New Covenant with all that had been prophesied and typified in the Old.

Bound with this chain ... McGarvey observed that:

Paul remained chained day and night, the guard being changed according to uniform custom every three hours, unless an exception was made of the sleeping hours in this case.[24]

The chain itself was a strong, relatively light one, fastened on one end to Paul's arm, and to the soldier on the other.

[23] Everett F. Harrison, op. cit., p. 488.

[24] J. W. McGarvey, op. cit., p. 287.