Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
And he, having such orders, put them into the inner prison with chains on their feet.
Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.
who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
The inner prison - Probably what we would call the dungeon; the darkest and most secure cell.
Made their feet fast in the stocks - The το ξυλον, which we here translate stocks, is supposed to mean two large pieces of wood, pierced with holes like our stocks, and fitted to each other, that, when the legs were in, they could not be drawn out. The holes being pierced at different distances, the legs might be separated or divaricated to a great extent, which must produce extreme pain. It is this circumstance to which it is supposed Prudentius refers, in speaking of the torments of St. Vincent: -
Lignoque plantas inserit,
Divaricatis cruribus.
"They placed his feet in the stocks, his legs greatly distended!"
If the apostles were treated in this way, lying on the bare ground with their flayed backs, what agony must they have suffered! However, they could sing praises notwithstanding.
Thrust them into the inner prison - Into the most retired and secure part of the prison. The cells in the interior of the prison would be regarded as more safe, being doubtless more protected, and the difficulty of escape would be greater.
And made their feet fast in the stocks - Greek: and made their feet secure to wood. The word "stocks," with us, denotes a machine made of two pieces of timber between which the feet of criminals are placed, and in which they are thus made secure. The account here does not imply necessarily that they were secured precisely in this way, but that they were fastened or secured by the feet, probably by cords, to a piece or beam of wood, so that they could not escape. It is probable that the legs of the prisoners were bound to large pieces of wood which not only encumbered them, but which were so placed as to extend their feet to a considerable distance. In this condition it might be necessary for them to lie on their backs; and if this, as is probable, was on the cold ground, after their severe scourging, their sufferings must have been very great. Yet in the midst of this they sang praises to God.
16:24 Secured their feet in the stocks - These were probably those large pieces of wood, in use among the Romans, which not only loaded the legs of the prisoner, but also kept them extended in a very painful manner.