Acts 16:24–26

16:24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell96 and fastened their feet in the stocks.97

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying98 and singing hymns to God,99 and the rest of100 the prisoners were listening to them. 16:26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds101 of all the prisoners came loose.

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96	tn Or “prison.”
97	tn L&N 6.21 has “stocks” for εἰς τὸ ξύλον (eis to xulon) here, as does BDAG 685 s.v. ξύλον 2.b. However, it is also possible (as mentioned in L&N 18.12) that this does not mean “stocks” but a block of wood (a log or wooden column) in the prison to which prisoners’ feet were chained or tied. Such a possibility is suggested by v. 26, where the “bonds” (“chains”?) of the prisoners loosened.
98	tn Grk “praying, were singing.” The participle προσευχόμενοι (proseuchomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
99	sn Praying and singing hymns to God. Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven” (To the Martyrs 2; cf. Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2; 1 Pet 5:6). The presence of God means the potential to be free (cf. v. 26).
100	tn The words “the rest of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
101	tn Or perhaps, “chains.” The translation of τὰ δεσμά (ta desma) is to some extent affected by the understanding of ξύλον (xulon, “stocks”) in v. 24. It is possible (as mentioned in L&N 18.12) that this does not mean “stocks” but a block of wood (a log or wooden column) in the prison to which prisoners’ feet were chained or tied.