Acts 16:38
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And the sergeants told these words to the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And the sergeants told these words to the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And the sergeants reported these words unto the magistrates: and they feared when they heard that they were Romans;
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And the police gave an account of these words to the authorities, and they were full of fear on hearing that they were Romans;
Webster's Revision
And the sergeants told these words to the magistrates: and they feared when they heard that they were Romans.
World English Bible
The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,
English Revised Version (ERV)
And the serjeants reported these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans;
Clarke's Acts 16:38 Bible Commentary
They feared when they heard - they were Romans - They feared, because the Roman law was so constituted that an insult offered to a citizen was deemed an insult to the whole Roman people. There is a remarkable addition here, both in the Greek and Latin of the Codex Bezae. It is as follows: "And when they were come with many of their friends to the prison, they besought them to go out, saying: We were ignorant of your circumstances, that ye were righteous men. And, leading them out, they besought them, saying, Depart from this city, lest they again make an insurrection against you, and clamor against you."
Barnes's Acts 16:38 Bible Commentary
They feared when they heard ... - They were apprehensive of punishment for having imprisoned them in violation of the laws of the empire. To punish unjustly a Roman citizen was deemed an offence to the majesty of the Roman people, and was severely punished by the laws. Dionysius Hal. (Ant. Rom., ii.) says, "The punishment appointed for those who abrogated or transgressed the Valerian law was death, and the confiscation of his property." The emperor Claudius deprived the inhabitants of Rhodes of freedom for having crucified some Roman citizens (Dio Cass., lib. 60). See Kuinoel and Grotius.