a rod- (the Latin fasces) holder · noun — nominative plural masculine
told
ἀναγγέλλωanangéllō
G312
to announce (in detail)
these
ταῦταtaûta
G5023
these things
words
ῥήματαrhēmata
G4487
an utterance (individually · noun — accusative plural neuter
magistrates
στρατηγοῖςstratēgois
G4755
a general · noun — dative plural masculine
and
καίkaí
G2532
and
feared
ἐφοβήθησανephobēthēsan
G5399
to frighten · verb — aorist passive deponent indicative, 3rd person plural
heard
ἀκούσαντεςakousantes
G191
to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
that
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
were
εἰσίeisí
G1526
they are
Romans
ῬωμαῖοίRhōmaioi
G4514
Romæan · noun — nominative plural masculine, a people or place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Acts 22:29 Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a R…
Matthew 14:5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
Matthew 21:46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 16:35–end
In these verses we have,
I. Orders sent for the discharge of Paul and Silas out of prison Act 16:35, Act 16:36. 1. The magistrates that had so basely abused them the day before gave the orders; and their doing it so early, as soon as it was day, intimates that either they were sensible the terrific earthquake they felt at midnight was intended to plead the cause of their prisoners, or their consciences had smitten them for what they had done and made them very uneasy. While the persecuted were singing in the stocks, the persecutors were full of tossings to and fro upon their beds, through anguish of mind, complaining more of the lashes of their consciences than the prisoners did of the lashe…
they feared when they heard they were Romans--their authority being thus imperilled; for they were liable to an action for what they had done.
Adam Clarke on Acts 16:38
They feared when they heard - they were Romans - They feared, because the Roman law was so constituted that an insult offered to a citizen was deemed an insult to the whole Roman people. There is a remarkable addition here, both in the Greek and Latin of the Codex Bezae. It is as follows: "And when they were come with many of their friends to the prison, they besought them to go out, saying: We were ignorant of your circumstances, that ye were righteous men. And, leading them out, they besought them, saying, Depart from this city, lest they again make an insurrection against you, and clamor against you."
John Gill on Acts 16:38
And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates,.... They returned to them, and acquainted them with what the prisoners said:
and they feared when they heard that they were Romans; they were not concerned for the injury they had done them; nor for the injustice and cruelty they had been guilty of; nor did they fear the wrath of God, and a future judgment; but they were put into a panic, when they found the men they had so ill used were Romans; lest they should be called to an account by the Roman senate, and be found guilty, and have their places taken away from them, and their persons punished.
The Church Fathers
And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. They feared, it says: because the men were Romans, not because they had unjustly cast them into prison. And besought them to depart out of the city: begged them as a favor. Observe how diversely grace manages things: how Peter went out, how Paul, though both were Apostles.
"And the serjeants told these words to the magistrates," etc. When they heard the words of the apostles, the magistrates were very afraid, because the apostles had called themselves innocent Romans sent to prison. Going to the apostles, they besought them to depart unhurt out of their city. Having done so, the apostles came to Lydia and told their brethren, in order, what great things the Lord had granted them. Moving on from there, they came to Thessalonica, where, entering the synagogue, Paul explained to them that, according to the holy Scriptures, the Lord Christ was to suffer for our salvation and quickly to rise again after three days. Many among the people and several noble women, believing in this, are shown to have joined the apostles' faith. The Jews, under the influence of envy, stirred up an uproar and expelled them. Coming to the synagogue, they discussed in their usual manner. The noble people there examined the divine Scriptures very carefully, and a great part of them believed in the Lord Christ.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Freedom — The law of Moses pointed out the cases in which the servants of the Hebrews were to receive their freedom (Ex. 21:2-4, 7, 8; Lev. 25:39-42, 47-55; Deut. 15:12-18). Under the Roman law the “freeman”…
Magistrate — A public civil officer invested with authority. The Hebrew shophetim, or judges, were magistrates having authority in the land (Deut. 1:16, 17). In Judg. 18:7 the word “magistrate” (A.V.) is rendered…
Philippi — (1.) Formerly Crenides, “the fountain,” the capital of the province of Macedonia. It stood near the head of the Sea, about 8 miles north-west of Kavalla. It is now a ruined village, called…
Sergeants — Acts 16:35, 38 (R.V., “lictors”), officers who attended the magistrates and assisted them in the execution of justice.
Stripes — As a punishment were not to exceed forty (Deut. 25:1-3), and hence arose the custom of limiting them to thirty-nine (2 Cor. 11:24). Paul claimed the privilege of a Roman citizen in regard to the…
Criminals · Confined in pri — Confined in pri
Magistrate · An officer of civil law — An officer of civil law
Philippi · (A city of Macedonia) -Paul preaches in — (A city of Macedonia) -Paul preaches in
Prisoners · Paul — Paul
Roman Empire, The · Allusions to citizenship of: Exempted from the degradation scourging — Allusions to citizenship of: Exempted from the degradation scourging
Sergeant · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Silas
John Calvin on Acts 16:35–end
Acts 16:35-40
35. And when it was day, the magistrates sent the apparitors, [officers,] saying, Let those men go. 36. And the keeper of the prison told these words to Paul, The magistrates have sent to loose you: now therefore going out, depart in peace. 37. And Paul said to them, After that they have beaten us openly, before our cause was known, seeing that we be Romans, they have cast us into prison; and now they cast us out privily? No, surely; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. 38. And the apparitors [officers] told these words to the magistrates; who feared, after that they heard that they were Romans 39. And they came and besought them; and when they had brought them out,…
Paul and Silas were both Roman citizens, so the beating and imprisonment (16:22-24) had been illegal. After the city officials learned of this, they were justifiably alarmed because they had committed a crime against Rome. • Let them come themselves to release us: Paul made use of his rights as a Roman citizen in order to clear his name and ensure that no disrepute would attach to the Christian message or those who accepted it. Luke intended to show that Christianity should enjoy the same status as Judaism in the Roman Empire as a permitted religion—the Christian faith was compatible with the life of a Roman citizen. Accordingly, it was important to note that Paul made use of his rights as a…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
