Acts 27:42
in Acts 27The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim to freedom.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
KJV
And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
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This verse in Acts 27
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
kill the prisoners
on Acts 27:42-44
The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, standard practice under a code that made a guard answer with his life for an escape, and the verse states the peril without comment: the storm survived, Paul nearly dies by Roman procedure on the beach. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose: one man's regard for one prisoner spares them all, and the bench notes the chapter's chain of mediated salvation, all saved for Paul's sake as verse 24 promised, the prisoners saved for Paul's sake now. Swimmers first, the rest on boards and broken pieces of the ship, and so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land: the promise audited to the last soul, two hundred and seventy-six ashore, and the chapter ends with God's word proven by count.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Again the devil tries to hinder the prophecy, and they had a mind to kill some, but the centurion suffered them not, that he might save Paul, so much was the centurion attached to him.
The Medieval Church1 voice
It should be noted that they kill someone voluntarily, and fate cannot prevent the commission of murder. So then, the soldiers voluntarily decide upon the act of murder and proceed to carry it out; however, having obeyed the centurion, they again and likewise voluntarily abandon …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) that for their sakes he had like to have been killed, but for his sake they were preserved. Note, It is no new thing for the innocent to be numbered among the transgressors.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, 10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the soldiers' counsel was to hill the prisoners, lest any . . . should escape--Roman cruelty, which made the keepers answerable for their prisoners with their own lives, is here reflected in this cruel proposal.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners - What blood-thirsty, cowardly villains must these have been! Though, through the providence of God, those poor men had escaped a watery grave, and had borne all the anxiety and distresses of this disastrous voyage, as well as the others, now that there is a likelihood of all getting safe to land that could swim, lest these should swim to shore, and so escape, those men, whose trade was in human blood, desired to have them massacred!
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the soldiers’ counsel ... - Why they gave this advice is not known. It was probably, however, because the Roman military discipline was very strict, and if they escaped it would be charged on them that it had been done by the negligence and unfaithfulness of the soldiers. They therefore proposed to kill them, though contrary to all humanity, justice, and laws; presuming, probably, that it would be supposed that they had perished in the wreck. This is a remarkable proof that people can be cruel even when experiencing the tender mercy of God, and that the most affecting scenes of divine goodness will not mitigate the natural ferocity and cruelty of those who delight in blood.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery 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.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τῶν | ton | Of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | now | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| στρατιωτῶν | stratioton | soldiers | G4757 → | 26 times |
| βουλὴ | boule | [the] plan | G1012 → | 12 times |
| ἐγένετο | egeneto | was | G1096 → | 667 times |
| ἵνα | ina | that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| τοὺς | tous | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δεσμώτας | desmotas | prisoners | G1202 → | |
| ἀποκτείνωσιν, | apokteinosin | they may kill, | G615 → | 74 times |
| μή | me | lest | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| τις | tis | anyone | G5100 → | 528 times |
| ἐκκολυμβήσας | ekkolumbesas | having swum away | G1579 → | |
| διαφύγῃ. | diaphuge | may escape. | G1309 → |
τῶνOf the
tonG3588 →19766 times
δὲnow
deG1161 →2765 times
στρατιωτῶνsoldiers
stratiotonG4757 →26 times
βουλὴ[the] plan
bouleG1012 →12 times
ἐγένετοwas
egenetoG1096 →667 times
ἵναthat
inaG2443 →668 times
τοὺςthe
tousG3588 →19766 times
δεσμώταςprisoners
desmotasG1202 →
ἀποκτείνωσιν,they may kill,
apokteinosinG615 →74 times
μήlest
meG3361 →1066 times
τιςanyone
tisG5100 →528 times
ἐκκολυμβήσαςhaving swum away
ekkolumbesasG1579 →
διαφύγῃ.may escape.
diaphugeG1309 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Proverbs 12:10A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:4
Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
- Genesis 33:13–14
But Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and I must care for sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard for even a day, all…
- Numbers 22:28–32
Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
- Deuteronomy 25:4
Through
Ecclesiastes 9:3This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Ecclesiastes 8:11
When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
- Ecclesiastes 1:17
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
- Psalms 51:5
Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
- Jeremiah 17:9
Through
Acts 12:19After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.
it leads to
- Acts 16:27
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.
- Acts 16:27
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 53; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.