ACTS 16:35 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.”
But Paul said to the officers: 'They beat us publicly without trial, and though we are Roman citizens, they threw us into prison. Now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out' — Paul's invocation of Roman citizenship (Rōmaios, Roman citizen) and the illegality of beating citizens without trial (akatakritous, uncondemned) represents a dramatic assertion of legal rights. The phrase beat us publicly (demosio, in public) emphasizes the humiliation and violation. Paul's refusal to leave quietly (legei pros autous) demands the magistrates themselves rectify the wrong, turning the tables on those who abused him.
Church Fathers on Acts 16:35
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. Acts 16:33 He washed them, and was himself baptized, he and his house. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let those men go. (v. 34, 35.) It is likely the magistrates had learned what had happened, and did not…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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