Acts 16:24

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 - pestilential cells (to use the words of Howson), damp and cold, from which the light was excluded, and where the chains rusted on the prisoners. One such place may be seen to this day on the slope of the Capitol at Rome. AND MADE THEIR FEET FAST IN THE STOCKS, [ eis (G1519) to (G3588) xulon (G3586)] - 'to the wood;' an instrument of torture as well as confinement, made of wood bound with iron, with holes for the feet, which were stretched more or less apart, according to the seve...

16-24 Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most important truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false preachers of the gospel, who are confounded with them by careless observers. Those who do good by drawing men from sin, may expect to be reviled as troublers of the city. While they teach men to fear God, to believe in Christ, to forsake sin, and to live godly lives, they will be accused of teaching bad customs....

Verse Acts 16:24. _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

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...

EXPOSITION ACTS 16:1 _And he came also _for _then came he, _A.V._ _and T.R.; _to Lystra _for _Lystra, _A.V._; Timothy _for _Timotheus, _A.V._; of a Jewess _for _of a certain woman which was a Jewess, _A.V. and T.R.; _which _for _and, _A.V. For DERBE and LYSTRA, see Acts 14:1. and notes. This time St. Paul visited Derbe first, whereas before he came from Lystra to Derbe (Acts 14:6, Acts 14:8, Acts 14:21). WAS THERE; viz

WHO HAVING RECEIVED SUCH A CHARGE,.... So strict an one from the magistrates, was doubly careful and diligent: THRUST THEM INTO THE INNER PRISON: the innermost part of it, the lowest or furthest part of the prison; so that there were the more doors, bolts, and bars, to break open, and pass through, should they attempt to make their escape: AND MADE THEIR FEET FAST IN THE STOCKS; or "wood", a wooden machine, in which the feet of prisoners were put for security, and which we call "the stocks"; some say it was such an one, in which the neck as well as the feet were put, and so might be the same with our "pillory"....

Acts 16:9. _And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us._ Our dreams often follow the leading thoughts of the day; or, if not of the day, yet the chief thoughts that are upon the mind. Paul dreams about mission work, for his heart is in it. I should not wonder if some before me, who are deeply engaged in earnest Christian work, have often dreamt about their Sunday-school, or their mission-station. Where the mind goes when we are awake, it often goes when we are asleep. This vision that appeared to Paul was supernatural; and was an indication of what God wanted him to do. Acts 16:10. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord ha

CHAPTER 16 _ 1. In Derbe and Lystra again. Timotheus (Acts 16:1)._ 2. The Preaching forbidden in Asia (Acts 16:6). 3. The Vision of the Man from Macedonia (Acts 16:9). 4. The Gospel in Europe (Acts 16:13). Read in connection with the first verses of this chapter 1 Timothy 1:18; 1Ti 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15. The circumcision of Timothy, the offspri

IMPRISONMENT OF PAUL AND SILAS. THE PRISON BROKEN. The rulers (Acts 16:19) are the heads of police; they are afterwards called _Strategi, which_ answers to the Roman _Prœ tores._ Philippi was a colony, its magistrates were Roman, _duoviri,_ and had the _fasces,_ the Roman rods, showing their power to order a beating. The missionaries are accused of making a disturbance in the city, being Jews (Jews are generally unpopular, and at Philippi they are not strong), and of introducing strange customs, _i.e._ a religion which was not an allowed one, in the Roman community. The populace takes the side of the accusers; a beating on the bare body is at once inflicted (_cf._ 2 Corinthians 11:25). The inner prison into which they were put was, to judge by other known cases, a pla

A SON IN THE FAITH (Acts 16:1-5)...