Acts 16:25–40

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying98 and singing hymns to God,99 and the rest of100 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 bonds101 of all the prisoners came loose. 16:27 When the jailer woke up102 and saw the doors of the prison standing open,103 he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,104 because he assumed105 the prisoners had escaped. 16:28 But Paul called out loudly,106 “Do not harm yourself,107 for we are all here!” 16:29 Calling for lights, the jailer108 rushed in and fell down109 trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. 16:30 Then he brought them outside110 and asked, “Sirs, what must111 I do to be saved?” 16:31 They replied,112 “Believe113 in the Lord Jesus114 and you will be saved, you and your household.” 16:32 Then115 they spoke the word of the Lord116 to him, along with all those who were in his house. 16:33 At117 that hour of the night he took them118 and washed their wounds;119 then120 he and all his family121 were baptized right away.122 16:34 The jailer123 brought them into his house and set food124 before them, and he rejoiced greatly125 that he had come to believe126 in God, together with his entire household.127 16:35 At daybreak128 the magistrates129 sent their police officers,130 saying, “Release those men.” 16:36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying,131 “The magistrates have sent orders132 to release you. So come out now and go in peace.”133 16:37 But Paul said to the police officers,134 “They had us beaten in public135 without a proper trial136—even though we are Roman citizens137—and they threw us138 in prison. And now they want to send us away139 secretly? Absolutely not! They140 themselves must come and escort us out!”141 16:38 The police officers reported these words to the magistrates. They were frightened when they heard Paul and Silas142 were Roman citizens143 16:39 and came144 and apologized to them. After145 they brought them out, they asked them repeatedly146 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 then147 departed.

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98	tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuchomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
99	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).
100	tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
101	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.
102	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.
103	tn The additional semantic component “standing” is supplied (“standing open”) to convey a stative nuance in English.
104	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).
105	tn Or “thought.”
106	tn Grk “But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying.” The dative phrase μεγάλῃ φωνῇ (megalē phōnē) has been simplified as an English adverb (“loudly”), and the participle λέγων (legōn) has not been translated since it is redundant in English.
107	sn Do not harm yourself. Again the irony is that Paul is the agent through whom the jailer is spared.
108	tn Grk “he”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
109	tn Or “and prostrated himself.” sn Fell down. The earthquake and the freeing of the prisoners showed that God’s power was present. Such power could only be recognized. The open doors opened the jailer’s heart.
110	tn Grk “And bringing them outside, he asked.” The participle προαγαγών (proagagōn) 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.
111	tn The Greek term (δεῖ, dei) is used by Luke to represent divine necessity.
112	tn Grk “said.”
113	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.
114	tc The majority of mss add Χριστόν (Christon, “Christ”) here (C D E Ψ 1739 𝔐 sy sa), but the best and earliest witnesses read simply τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν (ton kurion Iēsoun, “the Lord Jesus”; 𝔓74vid 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.
115	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.
116	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 (rhēma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logos 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.
117	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.
118	tn Grk “taking them … he washed.” The participle παραλαβών (paralabōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
119	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.”
120	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.
121	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.
122	tn Or “immediately.”
123	tn Grk “He”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
124	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.
125	tn Or “he was overjoyed.”
126	tn The translation “come to believe” reflects more of the resultative nuance of the perfect tense here.
127	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.
128	tn The translation “day is breaking” for ῥμέρα γίνεται (hēmera ginetai) in this verse is given by BDAG 436 s.v. ῥμέρα 1.a.
129	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, stratēgoi). 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.
130	tn On the term ῥαβδοῦχος (rhabdouchos) see BDAG 902 s.v. The term was used of the Roman lictor and roughly corresponds to contemporary English “constable, policeman.”
131	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.
132	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.
133	tn Grk “So coming out now go in peace.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
134	tn Grk “to them”; the referent (the police officers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
135	tn Grk “Having us beaten in public.” The participle δείραντες (deirantes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
136	tn Or “in public, uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.
137	tn The participle ὑπάρχοντας (huparchontas) has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.
138	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.
139	tn L&N 28.71 has “send us away secretly” for this verse.
140	tn Grk “But they.”
141	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.
142	tn Grk “heard they”; the referents (Paul and Silas) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
143	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.
144	tn Grk “and coming, they apologized.” The participle ἐλθόντες (elthontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
145	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.
146	tn The verb ἐρώτων (erōtōn) has been translated as an iterative imperfect; the English adverb “repeatedly” brings out the iterative force in the translation.
147	tn “Then” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the logical sequence in the translation.

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