Acts 16:39 (DRB)

Passage

And coming, they besought them: and bringing them out, they desired them to depart out of the city.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:37 But Paul said to them: They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison. And now do they thrust us out privately? Not so: but let them come.

Acts 16:38 And let us out themselves. And the serjeants told these words to the magistrates. And they were afraid: hearing that they were Romans.

Acts 16:39 And coming, they besought them: and bringing them out, they desired them to depart out of the city.

Acts 16:40 And they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia: and having seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "coming", "besought", "bringing", "desired", "depart", and "city". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "coming" and "besought", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "And let us out themselves And the..." into verse 40's "And they went out of the prison...", so "coming" and "besought" 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 "coming" and "besought" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.