Acts 16:23 (WEB)

Passage

When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely,

Nearby Context

Acts 16:21 and advocate customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

Acts 16:22 The multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore their clothes from them, and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

Acts 16:23 When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely,

Acts 16:24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.

Acts 16:25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "stripes", "laid", "threw", "prison", "charging", "jailer", "keep", and "safely". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "stripes" and "laid", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "The multitude rose up together against them..." into verse 24's "who having received such a command threw...", so "stripes" and "laid" 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 "stripes" and "laid" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.