Acts 16:21-40

16:21 and are advocating ¹  customs that are not lawful for us to accept ²  or practice, ³  since we are ⁴  Romans.”

16:22 The crowd joined the attack ⁵  against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes ⁶  off Paul and Silas ⁷  and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ⁸  16:23 After they had beaten them severely, ⁹  they threw them into prison and commanded ¹⁰  the jailer to guard them securely. 16:24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell ¹¹  and fastened their feet in the stocks. ¹² 

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying ¹³  and singing hymns to God, ¹⁴  and the rest of ¹⁵  the prisoners were listening to them. 16:26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds ¹⁶  of all the prisoners came loose. 16:27 When the jailer woke up ¹⁷  and saw the doors of the prison standing open, ¹⁸  he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, ¹⁹  because he assumed ²⁰  the prisoners had escaped. 16:28 But Paul called out loudly, ²¹  “Do not harm yourself, ²²  for we are all here!” 16:29 Calling for lights, the jailer ²³  rushed in and fell down ²⁴  trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. 16:30 Then he brought them outside ²⁵  and asked, “Sirs, what must ²⁶  I do to be saved?” 16:31 They replied, ²⁷  “Believe ²⁸  in the Lord Jesus ²⁹  and you will be saved, you and your household.” 16:32 Then ³⁰  they spoke the word of the Lord ³¹  to him, along with all those who were in his house. 16:33 At ³²  that hour of the night he took them ³³  and washed their wounds; ³⁴  then ³⁵  he and all his family ³⁶  were baptized right away. ³⁷  16:34 The jailer ³⁸  brought them into his house and set food ³⁹  before them, and he rejoiced greatly ⁴⁰  that he had come to believe ⁴¹  in God, together with his entire household. ⁴²  16:35 At daybreak ⁴³  the magistrates ⁴⁴  sent their police officers, ⁴⁵  saying, “Release those men.” 16:36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, ⁴⁶  “The magistrates have sent orders ⁴⁷  to release you. So come out now and go in peace.” ⁴⁸  16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, ⁴⁹  “They had us beaten in public ⁵⁰  without a proper trial ⁵¹  – even though we are Roman citizens ⁵²  – and they threw us ⁵³  in prison. And now they want to send us away ⁵⁴  secretly? Absolutely not! They ⁵⁵  themselves must come and escort us out!” ⁵⁶  16:38 The police officers reported these words to the magistrates. They were frightened when they heard Paul and Silas ⁵⁷  were Roman citizens ⁵⁸  16:39 and came ⁵⁹  and apologized to them. After ⁶⁰  they brought them out, they asked them repeatedly ⁶¹  to leave the city. 16:40 When they came out of the prison, they entered Lydia’s house, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and then ⁶²  departed.

[16:21]  ¹ tn Grk “proclaiming,” but in relation to customs, “advocating” is a closer approximation to the meaning.

[16:21]  ² tn Or “acknowledge.”

[16:21]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “we being Romans.” The participle οὖσιν (ousin) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

[16:22]  ⁵ tn L&N 39.50 has “the crowd joined the attack against them” for συνεπέστη (sunepesth) in this verse.

[16:22]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “off them”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:22]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “commanding.” The participle παραγγείλαντες (parangeilante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “prison.”

[16:24]  ¹² 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.

[16:25]  ¹³ tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:25]  ¹⁴ sn Praying and singing hymns to God. Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven” (To the Martyrs 2; cf. Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 5:6). The presence of God means the potential to be free (cf. v. 26).

[16:25]  ¹⁵ tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:26]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “chains.” The translation of τὰ δεσμά (ta desma) is to some extent affected by the understanding of ξύλον (xulon, “stocks”) in v. 24. It is 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.

[16:27]  ¹⁷ tn L&N 23.75 has “had awakened” here. It is more in keeping with contemporary English style, however, to keep the two verbal ideas parallel in terms of tense (“when the jailer woke up and saw”) although logically the second action is subsequent to the first.

[16:27]  ¹⁸ tn The additional semantic component “standing” is supplied (“standing open”) to convey a stative nuance in English.

[16:27]  ¹⁹ sn Was about to kill himself. The jailer’s penalty for failing to guard the prisoners would have been death, so he contemplated saving the leaders the trouble (see Acts 12:19; 27:42).

[16:27]  ²⁰ tn Or “thought.”

[16:28]  ²¹ tn Grk “But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying.” The dative phrase μεγάλῃ φωνῇ (megalh fwnh) has been simplified as an English adverb (“loudly”), and the participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated since it is redundant in English.

[16:28]  ²² sn Do not harm yourself. Again the irony is that Paul is the agent through whom the jailer is spared.

[16:29]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:29]  ²⁴ tn Or “and prostrated himself.”

[16:30]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And bringing them outside, he asked.” The participle προαγαγών (proagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun by supplying the conjunction “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[16:30]  ²⁶ tn The Greek term (δεῖ, dei) is used by Luke to represent divine necessity.

[16:31]  ²⁷ tn Grk “said.”

[16:31]  ²⁸ sn Here the summary term of response is a call to believe. In this context it refers to trusting the sovereign God’s power to deliver, which events had just pictured for the jailer.

[16:31]  ²⁹ tc The majority of mss add Χριστόν (Criston, “Christ”) here (C D E Ψ 1739 Ï sy sa), but the best and earliest witnesses read simply τὸν κύριον ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton kurion Ihsoun, “the Lord Jesus”; Ì^74vid א A B 33 81 pc bo). The addition of “Christ” to “Lord Jesus” is an obviously motivated reading. Thus on both external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is strongly preferred.

[16:32]  ³⁰ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the continuity with the preceding verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.

[16:32]  ³¹ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[16:33]  ³² tn Grk “And at.” 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.

[16:33]  ³³ tn Grk “taking them…he washed.” The participle παραλαβών (paralabwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:33]  ³⁴ tn On this phrase BDAG 603 s.v. λούω 1 gives a literal translation as “by washing he freed them from the effects of the blows.”

[16:33]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[16:33]  ³⁶ sn All his family. It was often the case in the ancient world that conversion of the father led to the conversion of all those in the household.

[16:33]  ³⁷ tn Or “immediately.”

[16:34]  ³⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:34]  ³⁹ tn Grk “placed [food] on the table” (a figurative expression). Since the actual word for food is not specified, it would also be possible to translate “set a meal before them,” but since this is taking place in the middle of the night, the preparations necessary for a full meal would probably not have been made. More likely Paul and Silas were given whatever was on hand that needed little or no preparation.

[16:34]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “he was overjoyed.”

[16:34]  ⁴¹ tn The translation “come to believe” reflects more of the resultative nuance of the perfect tense here.

[16:34]  ⁴² tn The phrase “together with his entire household” is placed at the end of the English sentence so that it refers to both the rejoicing and the belief. A formal equivalence translation would have “and he rejoiced greatly with his entire household that he had come to believe in God,” but the reference to the entire household being baptized in v. 33 presumes that all in the household believed.

[16:35]  ⁴³ tn The translation “day is breaking” for ἡμέρα γίνεται (Jhmera ginetai) in this verse is given by BDAG 436 s.v. ἡμέρα 1.a.

[16:35]  ⁴⁴ tn On the term translated “magistrates,” see BDAG 947-48 s.v. στρατηγός 1. These city leaders were properly called duoviri, but were popularly known as praetors (στρατηγοί, strathgoi). They were the chief officials of Philippi. The text leaves the impression that they came to the decision to release Paul and Silas independently. God was at work everywhere.

[16:35]  ⁴⁵ tn On the term ῥαβδοῦχος (rJabdouco") see BDAG 902 s.v. The term was used of the Roman lictor and roughly corresponds to contemporary English “constable, policeman.”

[16:36]  ⁴⁶ tn The word “saying” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; it is necessary in English because the content of what the jailer said to Paul and Silas is not the exact message related to him by the police officers, but is a summary with his own additions.

[16:36]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “orders” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[16:36]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “So coming out now go in peace.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:37]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:37]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:37]  ⁵¹ tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[16:37]  ⁵² tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[16:37]  ⁵³ tn The word “us” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[16:37]  ⁵⁴ tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

[16:37]  ⁵⁵ tn Grk “But they.”

[16:37]  ⁵⁶ sn They themselves must come and escort us out! Paul was asking for the injustice he and Silas suffered to be symbolically righted. It was a way of publicly taking their actions off the record and showing the apostles’ innocence, a major public statement. Note the apology given in v. 39.

[16:38]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “heard they”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:38]  ⁵⁸ sn Roman citizens. This fact was disturbing to the officials because due process was a right for a Roman citizen, well established in Roman law. To flog a Roman citizen was considered an abomination. Such punishment was reserved for noncitizens.

[16:39]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “and coming, they apologized.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:39]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “and after.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[16:39]  ⁶¹ tn The verb ἐρώτων (erwtwn) has been translated as an iterative imperfect; the English adverb “repeatedly” brings out the iterative force in the translation.

[16:40]  ⁶² tn “Then” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the logical sequence in the translation.