the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Acts 16:37
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But Paul said to the soldiers, "Those officials did not prove that we did anything wrong, but they beat us in public and put us in jail. And we are Roman citizens. Now they want us to go away quietly. No, they must come here themselves and lead us out!"
Then sayde Paul vnto them: they have beaten vs openly vncomdempned for all yt we are Romayns and have cast vs into preson: and now wolde they sende vs awaye prevely? Naye not so but let them come the selves and set vs out.
But Sha'ul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most assuredly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!"
But Paul told them, "They have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us into jail, even though we are Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Have them come and escort us out."Acts 22:25;">[xr]
But Paul said to them, "After beating us in public without due process—men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come in person and lead us out."
But Paul said to the police, "They beat us in public without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens. And they threw us in jail. Now they want to make us go away quietly. No! Let them come themselves and bring us out."
But Paul said to them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and do they now cast us out secretly? No truly; but let them come themselves and bring us out.
But Paul said to them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast [us] into prison; and now do they thrust us out privately? no verily; but let them come themselves and bring us out.
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."
But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most assuredly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!"
But Paul said to them, They have beaten us publickly, uncondemned, and have cast us into prison, who are Romans: and do they now thrust us out privately? Nay verily: but let them come themselves and conduct us out.
But Paul said to them, "After cruelly beating us in public, without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have thrown us into prison, and are they now going to send us away privately? No, indeed! Let them come in person and fetch us out."
And Poul seide to hem, Thei senten vs men of Rome in to prisoun, that weren betun openli and vndampned, and now priueli thei bringen vs out; not so, but come thei hem silf, and delyuere vs out.
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and do they now cast us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and bring us out.
But Paul told the police, "We are Roman citizens, and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out."
But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us in public without a trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now they are sending us out secretly? No! Let them come here themselves and bring us out!"
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and do they now cast us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and bring us out.
But Paul said to them, They have given us who are Romans a public whipping without judging us, and have put us in prison. Will they now send us out secretly? no, truly, let them come themselves and take us out.
But Sha'ul said to the officers, "After flogging us in public when we hadn't been convicted of any crime and are Roman citizens, they threw us in prison. Now they want to get rid of us secretly? Oh, no! Let them come and escort us out themselves!"
But Paul said to them, Having beaten us publicly uncondemned, us who are Romans, they have cast us into prison, and now they thrust us out secretly? no, indeed, but let them come themselves and bring us out.
Paulos saith to him, They scourged us in the eyes of the world, (we) being innocent, (and) Roman men, and threw us into the house of the bound; and now would they bring us forth secretly ? No, indeed, but they shall come and bring us out.
But Paul said to him: They have scourged us, unoffending men, and Romans, before all the world, and have cast us into prison; and now, do they secretly let us out? No, surely: but let them come themselves and bring us out.
But Paul said vnto them, They haue beaten vs openly vncondemned, being Romanes, and haue cast vs into prison, and now doe they thrust vs out priuily? Nay verily, but let them come themselues, and fetch vs out.
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!"
Paul said, "No! They have beaten us in front of many people without a trial. We are Roman citizens and they have put us in prison. Now do they think they can send us away without anyone knowing? No! They must come themselves and take us out."
But Paul replied, "They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves."
Then sayde Paul vnto them, After that they haue beaten vs openly vncodemned, which are Romanes, they haue cast vs into prison, and nowe would they put vs out priuily? nay verely: but let them come and bring vs out.
But Paul said to him, Not having committed any offense, they flogged us, Roman citizens, in the presence of the people, and they cast us into prison; and now do they let us out secretly? No verily; let them come themselves and fetch us out.
But, Paul, said unto them - Beating us, in public, uncondemned, men that are Romans, they thrust us into prison; - and, now, by stealth, are they thrusting us forth? Nay, verily! but let them come, themselves, and lead us out!
But Paul said to them: They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison. And now do they thrust us out privately? Not so: but let them come.
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 cast us out secretly? No! let them come themselves and take us out."
Then sayde Paul vnto them: They haue beaten vs openly vncondempned, beyng Romanes, and haue cast vs into pryson: and nowe woulde they thrust vs out priuily? Nay veryly, but let them come them selues, and fet vs out.
But Paul said to the police officers, "We were not found guilty of any crime, yet they whipped us in public—and we are Roman citizens! Then they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Not at all! The Roman officials themselves must come here and let us out."
But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”
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.
But Paul said to them, "They beat us in public without due process—men who are Roman citizens—and threw us into prison, and now they are wanting to release us secretly? Certainly not! Rather let them come themselves and bring us out!"
But Paul said to them, Having beaten us publicly, being Romans and uncondemned men, they threw us into prison. And now do they throw us out secretly? No, indeed! But coming themselves, let them bring us out.
and Paul said to them, `Having beaten us publicly uncondemned -- men, Romans being -- they did cast [us] to prison, and now privately do they cast us forth! why no! but having come themselves, let them bring us forth.'
But Paul sayde vnto them: They haue beaten vs openly vncondempned (where as we are yet Romaynes) and haue cast vs in preson, and shulde they now thrust vs out preuely? Not so, but let them come them selues, and brynge vs out.
but Paul replied, they have publickly scourg'd us, who are Romans, without any trial, they have thrown us into jayl, and now do they give us a private discharge? no, let them come themselves and release us.
But Paul wouldn't budge. He told the officers, "They beat us up in public and threw us in jail, Roman citizens in good standing! And now they want to get us out of the way on the sly without anyone knowing? Nothing doing! If they want us out of here, let them come themselves and lead us out in broad daylight."
But Paul said to the police officers, "They had us beaten in public without a proper trial—even though we are Roman citizens—and they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! They themselves must come and escort us out!"
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."
But Paul wasn't having any of it. He said, "We were beaten and imprisoned without a trial. We are Roman citizens and what happened here is against the law. And now they want us to just go away like nothing happened? I don't think so! Let them come here and release us themselves."
But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out."
But Paul said to them, "Having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
They have: Acts 16:20-24, Acts 22:25-28, Psalms 58:1, Psalms 58:2, Psalms 82:1, Psalms 82:2, Psalms 94:20, Proverbs 28:1
let: Daniel 3:25, Daniel 3:26, Daniel 6:18, Daniel 6:19, Matthew 10:16
Reciprocal: Genesis 8:16 - General Deuteronomy 16:19 - wrest 2 Kings 5:9 - General Acts 13:50 - and expelled Acts 16:22 - the magistrates Acts 21:39 - a citizen Acts 22:24 - that he should Acts 25:10 - I stand Acts 25:11 - no man 2 Corinthians 11:25 - I beaten 1 Thessalonians 2:2 - shamefully Revelation 3:9 - I will make them to
Gill's Notes on the Bible
But Paul said unto them,.... The sergeants, who were present when the jailer reported to Paul the message they came with from the magistrates; though the Syriac version reads in the singular number, "Paul said to him", to the jailer:
they have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; what the magistrates ordered to be done to them, is reckoned all one as if they had done it themselves; and which was done "openly", before all the people, in the most public manner; to their great reproach, being put to open shame, as if they had been the most notorious malefactors living; when they were "uncondemned", had done nothing worthy of condemnation, being innocent and without fault, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions render the word; nor was their cause heard, or they suffered to make any defence for themselves; and what was an aggravation of all this, that this was done in a Roman colony, and by Roman magistrates; and to persons that were Romans, at least one of them, Paul, who was of the city of Tarsus: for, according to the Porcian and Sempronian laws, a Roman citizen might neither be bound nor beaten n; but these magistrates, not content to beat Paul and Silas, without knowing the truth of their case, had cast them into prison as malefactors, and for further punishment:
and now do they thrust us out privily? nay, verily; or so it shall not be: this shows, that the apostle was acquainted with the Roman laws, as well as with the rites and customs of the Jews; and acted the wise and prudent, as well as the honest and harmless part; and this he did, not so much for the honour of the Roman name, as for the honour of the Christian name; for he considered, that should he and his companion go out of the prison in such a private manner, it might be taken for granted, that they had been guilty of some notorious offence, and had justly suffered the punishment of the law for it, which would have been a reproach to Christianity, and a scandal to the Gospel: wherefore the apostle refuses to go out in this manner, adding,
but let them come themselves, and fetch us out; that by so doing, they might own the illegality of their proceedings, and declare the innocence of the apostles.
n Cicero orat. 10. in Verrem, l. 5. p. 603. & orat. 18. pro Rabirio, p. 714.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
They 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 publicly acknowledge their error. Paul knew the privileges of a Roman citizen, and at proper times, when the interests of justice and religion required it, he did not hesitate to assert them. In all this, he understood and accorded with the Roman laws. The Valerian law declared that if a citizen appealed from the magistrate to the people, it should not be lawful for magistrate to beat him with rods, or to behead him (Plutarch, Life of P. Valerius Publicola; Livy, ii. 8). By the Porcian law it was expressly forbidden that a citizen should be beaten (Livy, iv. 9). Cicero says that the body of every Roman citizen was inviolable. âThe Porcian law,â he adds, âhas removed the rod from the body of every Roman citizen.â And in his celebrated oration against Verres, he says, A Roman citizen was beaten with rods in the forum, O judges; where, in the meantime, no groan, no other voice of this unhappy man, was heard except the cry, âI am a Roman citizenâ! Take away this hope,â he says, âtake away this defense from the Roman citizens, let there be no protection in the cry I am a Roman citizen, and the praetor can with impunity inflict any punishment on him who declares himself a citizen of Rome, etc.â
Being Romans - Being Romans, or having the privilege of Roman citizens. They were born Jews, but they claimed that they were Roman citizens, and had a right to the privileges of citizenship. On the ground of this claim, and the reason why Paul claimed to be a Roman citizen, see the notes on Acts 22:28.
Privily - Privately. The release should be as public as the unjust act of imprisonment. As they have publicly attempted to disgrace us, so they should as publicly acquit us. This was a matter of mere justice; and as it was of great importance to their character and success, they insisted on it.
Nay, verily; but let them come ... - It was proper that they should be required to do this:
(1) Because they had been illegally imprisoned, and the injustice of the magistrates should be acknowledged.
(2) Because the Roman laws had been violated, and the majesty of the Roman people insulted, and honor should be done to the laws.
(3) Because injustice had been done to Paul and Silas, and they had a right to demand just treatment and protection.
(4) Because such a public act on the part of the magistrates would strengthen the young converts, and show them that the apostles were not guilty of a violation of the laws.
(5) Because it would tend to the honor and to the furtherance of religion. It would be a public acknowledgement of their innocence, and would go far toward lending to them the sanction of the laws as religious teachers. We may learn from this also:
(1) That though Christianity requires meekness in the reception of injuries, yet that there are occasions on which Christians may insist on their rights according to the laws. Compare John 18:23.
(2) That this is to be done particularly where the honor of religion is concerned, and where by it the gospel will be promoted. A Christian may bear much as a man in a private capacity, and may submit, without any effort to seek reparation; but where the honor of the gospel is concerned; where submission, without any effort to obtain justice, might be followed by disgrace to the cause of religion, a higher obligation may require him to seek a vindication of his character, and to claim the protection of the laws. His name, and character, and influence belong to the church. The laws are designed as a protection to an injured name, or of violated property and rights, and of an endangered life. And when that protection can be had only by an appeal to the laws, such an appeal, as in the case of Paul and Silas, is neither vindictive nor improper. My private interests I may sacrifice, if I choose; my public name, and character, and principles belong to the church and the world, and the laws, if necessary, may be called in for their protection.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 37. They 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, Orat. pro Rabirio. Hence, as the same author observes, In Verrem, Orat. 5: "Facinus est vinciri civem Romanum, scelus verberari." It is a transgression of the law to bind a Roman citizen: it is wickedness to scourge him. And the illegality of the proceedings of these magistrates was farther evident in their condemning and punishing them unheard. This was a gross violation of a common maxim in the Roman law. Causa cognita, possunt multi absolvi; incognita, nemo condemnari potest. Cicero. "Many who are accused of evil may be absolved, when the cause is heard; but unheard, no man can be condemned." Every principle of the law of nature and the law of nations was violated in the treatment these holy men met with from the unprincipled magistrates of this city.
Let them come themselves and fetch us out. — The apostles were determined that the magistrates should be humbled for their illegal proceedings; and that the people at large might see that they had been unjustly condemned, and that the majesty of the Roman people was insulted by the treatment they had received.
