EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Acts 16:37
37But Paul spoke to the police who had brought the message. He said, ‘The city officers did not find that we had done anything wrong. But they commanded their soldiers to hit us with sticks in front of everybody. We are citizens of Rome but they still did this to us. They even put us into prison. Now they want us to leave the prison and go away. They want to send us away secretly. We will not agree! The Roman officers must come here to the prison themselves. Then they must lead us out for everyone to see.’
Acts 16:37 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.
- New International Version (NIV)But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out."
- New King James Version (NKJV)But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”
Context of Acts 16:37
35The next morning, the important officers sent their police to the prison with a message for the guard. They told him, ‘Let those men go free.’ 36The guard went to Paul and he told him, ‘The city officers have sent a message to me. They said, “Let Paul and Silas go free.” So now you can leave the prison. Nobody will hurt you any more.’ But Paul spoke to the police who had brought the message. He said, ‘The city officers did not find that we had done anything wrong. But they commanded their soldiers to hit us with sticks in front of everybody. We are citizens of Rome but they still did this to us. They even put us into prison. Now they want us to leave the prison and go away. They want to send us away secretly. We will not agree! The Roman officers must come here to the prison themselves. Then they must lead us out for everyone to see.’ 38The police returned to the city officers. They told them what Paul had said. The officers now understood that Paul and Silas were citizens of Rome. This made them very afraid. 39So they went to see Paul and Silas in the prison. They told Paul and Silas that they were very sorry. Then they led Paul and Silas out of the prison. They asked them to leave the city.
Read all of Acts 16Acts 16:37 word by word
Ὁ δὲ Παῦλος ἔφη πρὸς αὐτούς· δείραντες ἡμᾶς δημοσίᾳ ἀκατακρίτους, ἀνθρώπους Ῥωμαίους ὑπάρχοντας, ἔβαλαν εἰς φυλακήν, καὶ νῦν λάθρᾳ ἡμᾶς ἐκβάλλουσιν; οὐ γάρ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐλθόντες αὐτοὶ ἡμᾶς ἐξαγαγέτωσαν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- Paulὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
- saidφημίphēmi · to assertG5346
- untoπρόςpros · to/withG4314
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- They have beatenδέρωderō · to beat upG1194
- usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- openlyδημόσιοςdēmosios · publicG1219
- uncondemnedἀκατάκριτοςakatakritos · uncondemnedG178
- beingὑπάρχωhuparchō · be alreadyG5225
- RomansῬωμαῖοςRhōmaios · RomanG4514
- ·ἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- and have castβάλλωballō · to throw: throwG906
- intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- prisonφυλακήphulakē · prison/watch: prisonG5438
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
- do they thrustἐκβάλλωekballō · to expelG1544
- privilyλάθραlathra · quietlyG2977
- nayοὐou · noG3756
- verilyγάρgar · forG1063
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- let them comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- and fetchἐξάγωexagō · to lead outG1806
Cross-references for Acts 16:37
- Acts 16:20They asked the important officers to judge them. They said, ‘These men are Jews. They are causing much trouble in our city.
- Acts 22:25So the soldiers tied Paul's arms and they were ready to hit him. But Paul spoke to the soldiers' officer who stood near to him. He said, ‘I am a citizen of Rome. So it is not right for you to hit me like that. No judge has agreed that I have done anything wrong.’
- Psalms 58:1Do you rulers really say what is right? Do you judge people in a fair way?
- Psalms 82:1God calls the powerful rulers to meet in heaven. He sits on his throne to judge them.
- Psalms 94:20You will not become a friend of cruel rulers. They make laws that only hurt people.
- Proverbs 28:1A wicked person runs away even when nobody is chasing him. But a righteous person is as brave as a lion.
- Daniel 3:25The king said, ‘But I see four men walking about in the fire! No ropes are holding them and the fire has not hurt them. The fourth man seems like a son of the gods.’
- Daniel 6:18Then the king returned to his palace. He ate no food. Nobody brought anything to him to give him pleasure. He was unable to sleep.
- Matthew 10:16Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.
Commentaries on Acts 16:37
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 37They have beaten us openly - being Romans - St. Paul well knew the Roman laws; and on their violation by the magistrates he pleads. The Valerian law forbade any Roman citizen to be bound. The Porcian law forbade any to be beaten with rods. "Poreia lex virgas ab omnium civium Romanorum corpore amovit." And by the same law the liberty of a Roman citizen was never put in the power of the lictor. "Porcia lex libertatem civium lictori eripuit." See Cicero…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 37They have beaten us openly uncondemned - There are three aggravating circumstances mentioned, of which Paul complains: (1) That they had been beaten contrary to the Roman laws. (2) that it had been public; the disgrace had been in the presence of the people, and the reparation ought to be as public. (3) that it had been done without a trial, and while they were uncondemned, and therefore the magistrates ought themselves to come and release them, and thus…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 35-40Verses 35-40 Paul, though willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, and without any desire to avenge himself, did not choose to depart under the charge of having deserved wrongful punishment, and therefore required to be dismissed in an honourable manner. It was not a mere point of honour that the apostle stood upon, but justice, and not to himself so much as to his cause. And when proper apology is made, Christians should never express personal anger…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37-39Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, so it was illegal to beat and imprison them (16:22–24). When the city officials learned this, they were understandably alarmed because they had broken Roman law. Let them come themselves and escort us out!: Paul used his rights as a Roman citizen to save his reputation and protect the Christian message from receiving a bad name. Luke wanted to show that Christianity should have the same status as Judaism in the Roman…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3737. Paul said unto them--to the sergeants who had entered the prison along with the jailer, that they might be able to report that the men had departed. They have beaten us openly--The publicity of the injury done them, exposing their naked and bleeding bodies to the rude populace, was evidently the most stinging feature of it to the apostle's delicate feeling, and to this accordingly he alludes to the Thessalonians, probably a year after: "Even after we…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 16:37
In the dictionaries
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
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