Acts 16:25

Acts 16:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
• New International Version (NIV)About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Context of Acts 16:25

23After striking them many times [with the rods], they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely. 24He, having received such a [strict] command, threw them into the inner prison (dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks [in an agonizing position]. But about midnight when Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26suddenly there was a great earthquake, so [powerful] that the very foundations of the prison were shaken and at once all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27When the jailer, shaken out of sleep, saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.

Acts 16:25 word by word

Κατὰ δὲ τὸ μεσονύκτιον Παῦλος καὶ Σιλᾶς προσευχόμενοι ὕμνουν τὸν θεόν· ἐπηκροῶντο δὲ αὐτῶν οἱ δέσμιοι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• atκατάkata · according toG2596
• midnightὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• midnightμεσονύκτιοςmesonuktion · midnightG3317
• PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• SilasΣίλαςSilas · SilasG4609
• prayedπροσεύχομαιproseuchomai · to prayG4336
• and sang praisesὑμνέωhumneō · to praiseG5214
• unto Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• the prisonersδέσμιοςdesmios · prisonerG1198
• heardἐπακροάομαιepakroaomai · to listen roG1874
• themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846

Cross-references for Acts 16:25

• Job 35:10But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs [of rejoicing] in the night,
• Psalms 22:2O my God, I call out by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet.
• Psalms 42:8Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song will be with me, A prayer to the God of my life.
• Psalms 77:6I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit searches:
• Psalms 119:55O Lord, I remember Your name in the night, And keep Your law.
• Isaiah 30:29You will have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, And joy of heart as when one marches [in procession] with a flute, To go to the [temple on the] mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
• Psalms 50:15Call on Me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.”
• Psalms 77:2In the day of my trouble I [desperately] sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out [in prayer] without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted.
• Psalms 91:15He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
• Matthew 26:38Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and stay awake and keep watch with Me.”
• Luke 22:44And being in agony [deeply distressed and anguished; almost to the point of death], He prayed more intently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground.
• Hebrews 5:7In the days of His earthly life, Jesus offered up both [specific] petitions and [urgent] supplications [for that which He needed] with fervent crying and tears to the One who was [always] able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission toward God [His sinlessness and His unfailing determination to do the Father’s will].
• James 5:13Is anyone among you suffering? He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to sing praises [to God].
• Acts 5:41So they left the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy [dignified by indignity] to suffer shame for [the sake of] His name.
• Psalms 34:1I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
• Matthew 5:10“Blessed [comforted by inner peace and God’s love] are those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever].

Commentaries on Acts 16:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25At midnight Paul and Silas - sang praises - Though these holy men felt much, and had reason to fear more, yet they are undismayed, and even happy in their sufferings: they were so fully satisfied that they were right, and had done their duty, that there was no room for regret or self-reproach. At the same times they had such consolations from God as could render any circumstances not only tolerable, but delightful. They prayed, first, for grace to support…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25And at midnight - Probably their painful posture, and the sufferings of their recent scourging, prevented their. sleeping. Yet, though they had no repose, they had a quiet conscience, and the supports of religion. Prayed - Though they had suffered much, yet they had reason to apprehend more. They sought, therefore, the sustaining grace of God. And sang praises - Compare the notes on Job 35:10. Nothing but religion would have enabled them to do this. They…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-34Verses 25-34 The consolations of God to his suffering servants are neither few nor small. How much more happy are true Christians than their prosperous enemies! As in the dark, so out of the depths, we may cry unto God. No place, no time is amiss for prayer, if the heart be lifted up to God. No trouble, however grievous, should hinder us from praise. Christianity proves itself to be of God, in that it obliges us to be just to our own lives. Paul cried…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25Paul and Silas, like the apostles suffering abuse in Jerusalem, were full of joy. They rejoiced because God considered them "worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" (5:41).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises--literally, "praying, were singing praises"; that is, while engaged in pouring out their hearts in prayer, had broken forth into singing, and were hymning loud their joy. As the word here employed is that used to denote the Paschal hymn sung by our Lord and His disciples after their last Passover (Mt 26:30), and which we know to have consisted of Psa 113:1-118:29, which was chanted at that…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 16:25

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Criminals
• Family
• Joy
• Minister, Christian
• Paul
• Philippi
• Praise
• Prayer
• Prisoners
• Readings, Select
• Silas
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• God
• Paul
• Silas
• Paul, Saul
• Silas, Silvanus
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Establish
• Gather
• Gone
• Harm

Commentaries on Acts 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings