New King James Version
Acts 16:37
37But 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.”
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 Living Translation (NLT)But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”
Context of Acts 16:37
35And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.” 36So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.” 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.” 38And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. 39Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from 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 16:20And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;
- Acts 22:25And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”
- Psalms 58:1Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
- Psalms 82:1God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
- Psalms 94:20Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You?
- Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.
- Daniel 3:25“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
- Daniel 6:18Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him.
- Matthew 10:16“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries