Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.
Parallel Translations
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Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.
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Then strayght waye departed from him they which shuld have examyned him. And the hye captayne also was a frayde after he knewe that he was a Romayne: because he had bounde him.
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Then straightway they departed from him, which should haue examined him: and the chiefe captaine also was afrayd, after he knewe that hee was a Romane, and that he had bound him.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Acts 22:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 21:33 Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done.
- Acts 22:24-26 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?” When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”
- Acts 16:38-39 The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city.
- Hebrews 11:35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Not by Nation, but by the law of his…
Not by Nation, but by the law of his city.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 29 Then straightway they departed from him which should…
29 Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
Ver. 29. Then straightway they departed from him] Thus wonderfully and opportunely doth the Lord free his people, sometimes, from evils and enemies, when in human apprehension there is no way of escape.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain They departed from him, who had bound him, and…
They departed from him, who had bound him, and would have scourged him.
The chief captain also was afraid; the crime of breaking the privileges of the Roman citizens being accounted no less than treason, and a sin, as they called it, against the majesty of that people; as afterwards it was as great an offence against their emperors.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. After he knew that he was a…
Verse 29. After he knew that he was a Roman] He who was going to scourge him durst not proceed to the torture when Paul declared himself to be a Roman. A passage from Cicero, Orat. pro Verr. Act. ii. lib. v. 64, throws the fullest light on this place: Ille, quisquis erat, quem tu in crucem rapiebas, qui tibi esset ignotus, cum civem se Romanum esse diceret, apud te Praetorem, si non effugium, ne moram quidem mortis mentione atque usurpatione civitatis assequi potuit? "Whosoever he might be whom thou wert hurrying to the rack, were he even unknown to thee, if he said that he was a Roman citizen, he would necessarily obtain from thee, the Praetor, by the simple mention of Rome, if not an escape, yet at least a delay of his punishment." The whole of the sixty-fourth and sixty-fifth sections of this oration, which speak so pointedly on this subject, are worthy of consideration. Of this privilege he farther says, Ib. in cap. lvii., Illa vox et exclamatio, Civis Romanus sum, quae saepe multis in ultimis terris opem inter barbaros et salutem tulit, c. That exclamation, I am a Roman citizen, which often times has brought assistance and safety, even among barbarians, in the remotest parts of the earth, c.
PLUTARCH likewise, in his Life of Pompey, (vol. iii. p. 445, edit. Bryan,) says, concerning the behaviour of the pirates, when they had taken any Roman prisoner, Εκεινο δε ην ὑβριϚικωτατον κ. τ. λ what was the most contumelious was this when any of those whom they had made captives cried out, ρωμαιος ειναι, THAT HE WAS A ROMAN, and told them his name, they pretended to be surprised, and be in a fright, and smote upon their thighs, and fell down (on their knees) to him, beseeching him to pardon them! It is no wonder then that the torturer desisted, when Paul cried out that he was a Roman and that the chief captain was alarmed, because he had bound him.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Then straightway - Immediately. They saw that by scourging…
Then straightway - Immediately. They saw that by scourging him they would have Violated the Roman law, and exposed themselves to its penalty.
Which should have examined him - Who were about to torture him by scourging him, Act 22:24.
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Because he had bound him - Preparatory to scourging him. The act of binding a Roman citizen with such an intent, untried and uncondemned, was unlawful. Prisoners Who were to be scourged were usually bound by the Romans to a pillar or post; and a Similar custom prevailed among the Jews. That it was unlawful to bind a man with this intent, who was uncondemned, appears from an express declaration in Cicero (against Verres): “It is a heinous sin to bind a Roman citizen; it is wickedness to beat him; it is next to parricide to kill him, and what Shall I say to crucify him?”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The same law which forbad a Roman citizen to…
The same law which forbad a Roman citizen to be scourged, forbad him also to be bound. (St. Augustine, lib. i. de Serm. Dni. chap. 29.) --- It was under Claudius that the abuse of buying the freedom of Rome was introduced. At first the name of a Roman was esteemed much, and bought at a great price. Now (such is the emptiness and vanity of titles) it is refused, and despised; nay, it is fled from, and reckoned disgraceful. (Silvian. De Gubern. Dei, lib. v.) --- If St. Paul, on this occasion, makes use of his privilege, it is not that he was unprepared, or afraid to die for Christ; but because it was lawful to use ordinary means to extricate himself from difficulties, and preserve himself for future services to religion. (Denis the Carthusian)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain chief captain also was afraid, &c.--See on Act 16:38.
chief captain also was afraid, &c.--See on Act 16:38.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 29. Departed—The underlings require no order to desist, and…
29. Departed—The underlings require no order to desist, and depart. The chiliarch is fearful, not because he has bound Paul with chains for security, for that was lawful; but because he has bound him for the scourging. Accordingly, he is not released until the morrow; but from this time the chiliarch treats Paul with consideration, and exerts himself for his safety and deliverance from any injustice from the Jews.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. which should have examined him] This is old…
29. which should have examined him] This is old English for “which were about to examine him” which the Rev. Ver. gives. The verb is euphemistically employed for the scourging which it was proposed to administer to obtain information from St Paul.
because he had bound him] i.e. bound him for the purpose of scourging. To be bound with a chain as a prisoner was not prohibited in the case of Romans. Hence we find St Paul speaking often in the Epistles, written during his imprisonment at Rome, of the bonds and the “chain” with which he was afflicted. Cp. Php_1:7; Php_1:13-14; Php_1:16; Col_4:18; Phm_1:10; Phm_1:13. Also Act_28:20, while the next verse in this chapter shews that though the Apostle was unloosed from the whipping-post, he was still kept in bands.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (29) Which should have examined him.—The verb had acquired…
(29) Which should have examined him.—The verb had acquired the secondary sense (just as “putting to the question” did in mediæval administration of justice) of examining by torture.
Because he had bound him.—The words seem to refer to the second act of binding (Act_22:25) rather than the first (Act_21:33). The chains fastened to the arms were thought of, as we see afterwards, when St. Paul’s citizenship was an acknowledged fact (Act_26:29; Eph_3:1; Eph_4:1), as not incompatible with the respect due to a Roman citizen. The binding, as slaves were bound, with leathern thongs, was quite another matter.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain They then which were about to examine him straightway…
They then which were about to examine him straightway departed from him for then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him, A.V.; when for after, A.V. Had bound him (hn aujtov), as related in Act_21:33. jEke deqhnai: "Facinus est vinciri civem Remanum," Cicero, in "Verrem," 5:66 (quoted by Meyer).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain See notes on verse 25
See notes on verse 25
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain examined him
examined him
Or, tortured him.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Arrangements for a decent hearing:
Arrangements for a decent hearing:
v. 29. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him; and the chief captain also was afraid after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
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v. 30. On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their Council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
The declaration of Paul that he was a free-born Roman citizen had its immediate effect. Those that were to put the question to him with torture stepped back immediately, with alacrity, for the torture was illegal in the case of a Roman citizen, although it might be employed in the case of slaves and foreigners. Even the chiliarch felt rather uncomfortable with fear, since he had now found out that Paul was a Roman citizen, and because he had bound him. If Paul had been of a vindictive nature, he might have caused the tribune some difficulty, but revenge did not enter his thoughts, since his object had been gained. But the commander now acted more carefully. It was still his firm resolve to find out the real reason why Paul was being accused by the Jews, what the trouble really was about. So he had Paul freed from his bonds, and commanded that the high priests and the entire Synedrion come together, the hearing probably taking place in their own council-chamber or at some place in the city outside of the Tower of Antonia, most likely in the Court of the Gentiles, where the Romans were permitted to appear, since he led Paul down from the hill and placed him in front of them. Thus the prophecy of Agabus had been fulfilled, and Paul was in the hands of the Gentiles, delivered there by the hands of his own countrymen.
Summary.Paul’s speech to the Jews, first listened to in interested silence, is interrupted by shouts of anger, after which Paul saves himself from a scourging at the hands of the soldiers by declaring his Roman citizenship.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.