Acts 16:35–16:40, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Acts 16:35–16:40
Paul demands public accountability before departure
Quiet release is refused until an illegal beating is named in public
In the morning the magistrates send word to let the men go. Paul answers that they have beaten uncondemned Romans openly and now want a private exit. He requires them to come themselves. The officials, afraid when they hear of Roman citizenship, apologize, escort them out, and ask them to leave. Paul and Silas go to Lydia's household, encourage the brothers, and depart.
Citizenship is leverage many beaten people did not have. The magistrates remain imperial agents who first authorized public violence and then prefer a quiet ending. Acts shows a strategic demand for public accountability, not trust that Rome is just.
How this should shape us
Where you have standing others lack, use it to name public wrongdoing and to protect companions, not to score a private win. Do not treat citizenship as human worth, and do not assume every victim can or should confront officials in the same way.
Teach it back
Explain Acts 16:35–16:40 in your own words, naming its movement, speaker or narrator role, one source-controlled detail, one uncertainty, one affected person, and one conclusion the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Acts 16:35–16:40, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text, Acts 16:35-16:40
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 16:35-16:40
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 16:35–16:40
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'Apologetic Ministry,' Acts 16-17 study guide
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 16:35–16:40
Supports: Roman law-enforcement comparison with explicit local variation and limits on reconstructing procedure.
Brelaz, JSNT 43.4 (2021), complete open HTML, section 1 and the named provincial, custody, citizenship, hearing, or conclusion paragraphs bearing on Acts 16:35–16:40
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 16:35–16:40, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 16:35-16:40
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 16:35-16:40
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Acts
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 16:35–16:40
Open source ↗open university bible study course
Acts of the Apostles Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2019
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'Apologetic Ministry,' Acts 16-17 study guide
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
The Acts of the Apostles
Alan J. Thompson
The Gospel Coalition, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Exact location: Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 16:35–16:40
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
The Provincial Contexts of Paul's Imprisonments: Law Enforcement and Criminal Procedure in the Roman East
Cedric Brelaz
Journal for the Study of the New Testament 43.4, 2021
Supports: Roman law-enforcement comparison with explicit local variation and limits on reconstructing procedure.
Exact location: Brelaz, JSNT 43.4 (2021), complete open HTML, section 1 and the named provincial, custody, citizenship, hearing, or conclusion paragraphs bearing on Acts 16:35–16:40
Open source ↗