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Acts 16:38

in Acts 16

So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the serjeants reported these words unto the magistrates: and they feared when they heard that they were Romans;

KJV

And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.

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This verse in Acts 16

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

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.

This site's exposition

beaten us openly uncondemned

on Acts 16:37-38

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, Paul invoking his Roman citizenship only after the punishment, not to avoid the beating but to force the city's own leaders to answer publicly for an illegal act, since Roman law made beating an uncondemned citizen a serious offense for a magistrate. The serjeants told these words unto the magistrates, and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans, the fear well founded, since a false claim would have been checked and a true one exposed them to the emperor's own justice. Ramsay's study of provincial law finds Paul's demand exactly proportioned to the offense, public vindication answering public humiliation.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Cassiodorus

Complexiones on the Acts of the Apostles · Written before 585.

proposed

"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 …

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 36 · Written in the 5th century.

proposed

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.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Paul's Adoption of Timothy. 1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v1-3

And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

They feared when they heard ... - They were apprehensive of punishment for having imprisoned them in violation of the laws of the empire. To punish unjustly a Roman citizen was deemed an offence to the majesty of the Roman people, and was severely punished by the laws. Dionysius Hal. (Ant. Rom., ii.) says, “The punishment appointed for those who abrogated or transgressed the Valerian law was death, and the confiscation of his property.” The emperor Claudius deprived the inhabitants of Rhodes of freedom for having crucified some Roman citizens (Dio Cass., lib. 60). See Kuinoel and Grotius.

The words behind it

15 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • ἀπήγγειλανReported

    apengeilanG518 →43 times

  • δὲthen

    deG1161 →2765 times

  • τοῖςto the

    toisG3588 →19766 times

  • στρατηγοῖςmagistrates

    strategoisG4755 →10 times

  • οἱthe

    hoiG3588 →19766 times

  • ῥαβδοῦχοιofficers

    rhabdouchoiG4465 →

  • τὰ<the>

    taG3588 →19766 times

  • ῥήματαdeclarations

    rhemataG4487 →68 times

  • ταῦτα·these;

    tautaG3778 →1381 times

  • ἐφοβήθησανThey were afraid

    ephobethesanG5399 →95 times

  • δὲthen

    deG1161 →2765 times

  • ἀκούσαντεςhaving heard

    akousantesG191 →425 times

  • ὅτιthat

    hotiG3754 →1292 times

  • ῬωμαῖοίRomans

    rhomaioiG4514 →12 times

  • εἰσιν,they are,

    eisinG1510 →2333 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Matthew 14:5

    Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 21:26

      But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Matthew 21:32

      For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe…

    • Matthew 11:9

      What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

    • Acts 4:21

      After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.

  • Through

    Acts 22:29

    Then those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

    it leads to

    • Acts 21:33

      The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

    • Acts 22:24–26

      the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him.

  • Through

    Matthew 21:46

    Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 21:11

      The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

    • Acts 2:22

      Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Ascension, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Ascension, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 16 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cassiodorus, Complexiones on the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 36; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.

Read on in Acts 16 →