Discovery BoxActs 16:23 
Context16:23 After they had beaten them severely, 1 they threw them into prison and commanded 2 the jailer to guard them securely.
Acts 16:29
Context16:29 Calling for lights, the jailer 3 rushed in and fell down 4 trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas.
Acts 16:36
Context16:36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, 5 “The magistrates have sent orders 6 to release you. So come out now and go in peace.” 7
Acts 16:27
Context16:27 When the jailer woke up 8 and saw the doors of the prison standing open, 9 he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, 10 because he assumed 11 the prisoners had escaped.
Acts 16:34
Context16:34 The jailer 12 brought them into his house and set food 13 before them, and he rejoiced greatly 14 that he had come to believe 15 in God, together with his entire household. 16
1 tn Grk “Having inflicted many blows on them.” The participle ἐπιθέντες (epiqente") has been taken temporally. BDAG 384 s.v. ἐπιτίθημι 1.a.β has “inflict blows upon someone” for this expression, but in this context it is simpler to translate in English as “they had beaten them severely.”
2 tn Grk “commanding.” The participle παραγγείλαντες (parangeilante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Or “and prostrated himself.”
sn Fell down. The earthquake and the freeing of the prisoners showed that God’s power was present. Such power could only be recognized. The open doors opened the jailer’s heart.
5 tn The word “saying” is not in the Greek text, but is implied; it is necessary in English because the content of what the jailer said to Paul and Silas is not the exact message related to him by the police officers, but is a summary with his own additions.
6 tn The word “orders” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
7 tn Grk “So coming out now go in peace.” The participle ἐξελθόντες (exelqonte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
8 tn L&N 23.75 has “had awakened” here. It is more in keeping with contemporary English style, however, to keep the two verbal ideas parallel in terms of tense (“when the jailer woke up and saw”) although logically the second action is subsequent to the first.
9 tn The additional semantic component “standing” is supplied (“standing open”) to convey a stative nuance in English.
10 sn Was about to kill himself. The jailer’s penalty for failing to guard the prisoners would have been death, so he contemplated saving the leaders the trouble (see Acts 12:19; 27:42).
11 tn Or “thought.”
12 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the jailer) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Grk “placed [food] on the table” (a figurative expression). Since the actual word for food is not specified, it would also be possible to translate “set a meal before them,” but since this is taking place in the middle of the night, the preparations necessary for a full meal would probably not have been made. More likely Paul and Silas were given whatever was on hand that needed little or no preparation.
14 tn Or “he was overjoyed.”
15 tn The translation “come to believe” reflects more of the resultative nuance of the perfect tense here.
16 tn The phrase “together with his entire household” is placed at the end of the English sentence so that it refers to both the rejoicing and the belief. A formal equivalence translation would have “and he rejoiced greatly with his entire household that he had come to believe in God,” but the reference to the entire household being baptized in v. 33 presumes that all in the household believed.
