Acts 16:20 (LSB)

Passage

and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

Nearby Context

Acts 16:18 And she continued doing this for many days. But being greatly annoyed, Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very moment.

Acts 16:19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit had left, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities,

Acts 16:20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

Acts 16:21 and are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

Acts 16:22 And the crowd joined together to attack them, and the chief magistrates, tearing their garments off of them, proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brought", "chief", "magistrates", "said", "throwing", "city", "confusion", and "jews". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brought" and "chief", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "But when her masters saw that their..." into verse 21's "and are proclaiming customs that are not...", so "brought" and "chief" 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 "brought" and "chief" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.