Acts 16:39 (LSB)

Passage

and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them to leave the city.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:37 But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.”

Acts 16:38 And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

Acts 16:39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them to leave the city.

Acts 16:40 And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and left.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "appealed", "brought", "kept", "requesting", "leave", and "city". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "appealed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "And the policemen reported these words to..." into verse 40's "And they went out of the prison...", so "came" and "appealed" 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 "came" and "appealed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.