Acts 16:23

16:23 After they had beaten them severely, ¹  they threw them into prison and commanded ²  the jailer to guard them securely.

Acts 8:3

8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy ³  the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off ⁴  both men and women and put them in prison. ⁵ 

Acts 12:4

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads ⁶  of soldiers to guard him. Herod ⁷  planned ⁸  to bring him out for public trial ⁹  after the Passover.

Acts 16:24

16:24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell ¹⁰  and fastened their feet in the stocks. ¹¹ 

Acts 12:6

12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, ¹²  Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while ¹³  guards in front of the door were keeping watch ¹⁴  over the prison.

Acts 16:37

16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, ¹⁵  “They had us beaten in public ¹⁶  without a proper trial ¹⁷  – even though we are Roman citizens ¹⁸  – and they threw us ¹⁹  in prison. And now they want to send us away ²⁰  secretly? Absolutely not! They ²¹  themselves must come and escort us out!” ²² 

Acts 12:10

12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards, ²³  they came to the iron ²⁴  gate leading into the city. It ²⁵  opened for them by itself, ²⁶  and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, ²⁷  when at once the angel left him.

[16:23]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “commanding.” The participle παραγγείλαντες (parangeilante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:3]  ³ tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.

[8:3]  ⁴ tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[8:3]  ⁵ tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”

[12:4]  ⁵ sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”

[16:24]  ⁷ tn Or “prison.”

[16:24]  ⁸ 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.

[12:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

[12:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.

[12:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “were guarding.”

[16:37]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:37]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

[16:37]  ¹⁴ tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (Juparconta") has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[16:37]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.

[16:37]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “But they.”

[16:37]  ¹⁸ 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.

[12:10]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

[12:10]  ¹⁴ sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

[12:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[12:10]  ¹⁶ tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

[12:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).