Acts 16:20-24

16:20 When ¹  they had brought them ²  before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. ³  They are ⁴  Jews 16:21 and are advocating ⁵  customs that are not lawful for us to accept ⁶  or practice, ⁷  since we are ⁸  Romans.”

16:22 The crowd joined the attack ⁹  against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes ¹⁰  off Paul and Silas ¹¹  and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ¹²  16:23 After they had beaten them severely, ¹³  they threw them into prison and commanded ¹⁴  the jailer to guard them securely. 16:24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell ¹⁵  and fastened their feet in the stocks. ¹⁶ 

[16:20]  ¹ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[16:20]  ² tn Grk “having brought them.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been taken temporally. It is also possible in English to translate this participle as a finite verb: “they brought them before the magistrates and said.”

[16:20]  ³ tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἐκταράσσω has “agitate, cause trouble to, throw into confusion” for the meaning of this verb.

[16:20]  ⁴ tn Grk “being Jews, and they are proclaiming.” The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:21]  ⁵ tn Grk “proclaiming,” but in relation to customs, “advocating” is a closer approximation to the meaning.

[16:21]  ⁶ tn Or “acknowledge.”

[16:21]  ⁷ sn Customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice. Ironically, the charges are similar to those made against Jesus in Luke 23:2, where Jews argued he was “twisting” their customs. The charge has three elements: (1) a racial element (Jewish); (2) a social element (unlawful); and (3) a traditional element (not their customs).

[16:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “we being Romans.” The participle οὖσιν (ousin) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[16:22]  ⁹ tn L&N 39.50 has “the crowd joined the attack against them” for συνεπέστη (sunepesth) in this verse.

[16:22]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “tearing the clothes off them, the magistrates ordered.” The participle περιρήξαντες (perirhxante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Although it may be possible to understand the aorist active participle περιρήξαντες in a causative sense (“the magistrates caused the clothes to be torn off Paul and Silas”) in the mob scene that was taking place, it is also possible that the magistrates themselves actively participated. This act was done to prepare them for a public flogging (2 Cor 11:25; 1 Thess 2:2).

[16:22]  ¹¹ tn Grk “off them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:22]  ¹² tn The infinitive ῥαβδίζειν (rJabdizein) means “to beat with rods or sticks” (as opposed to fists or clubs, BDAG 902 s.v. ῥαβδίζω).

[16:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “Having inflicted many blows on them.” The participle ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") has been taken temporally. BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 1.a.β has “inflict blows upon someone” for this expression, but in this context it is simpler to translate in English as “they had beaten them severely.”

[16:23]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “commanding.” The participle παραγγείλαντες (parangeilante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “prison.”

[16:24]  ¹⁶ tn L&N 6.21 has “stocks” for εἰς τὸ ξύλον (ei" to xulon) here, as does BDAG 685 s.v. ξύλον 2.b. However, it is also possible (as mentioned in L&N 18.12) that this does not mean “stocks” but a block of wood (a log or wooden column) in the prison to which prisoners’ feet were chained or tied. Such a possibility is suggested by v. 26, where the “bonds” (“chains”?) of the prisoners loosened.