Acts 16:25

And at midnight Sleep being out of the question, they passed the night in devotions. The imperfect tenses of the verbs in this verse imply that the prayers and singing were continued. But it is unnecessary to render (as R. V.) "Paul and Silas werepraying … and the prisoners werelistening, &c."

unto God Whose bondservants the damsel had called them (Acts 16:17). Now they are in bonds for His name, and He gives them His comfort and refreshing in a manner strange to those who are not His servants.

and the prisoners heard them The inner prison appears to have held more than Paul and Silas, or it may be that bars in the inner walls allowed the sound to pass into other cells. The verb is not the common one for "hearing," and is rarely found anywhere. It indicates attentive hearkening.