Acts 16:22 (KJV)

Passage

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

Acts 16:21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

Acts 16:22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

Acts 16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

Acts 16:24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "multitude", "rose", "together", "against", "magistrates", "rent", "clothes", and "commanded". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "multitude" and "rose", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "And teach customs which are not lawful..." into verse 23's "And when they had laid many stripes...", so "multitude" and "rose" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "multitude" and "rose" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.