Acts 16:26 (YLT)

Passage

and suddenly a great earthquake came, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, opened also presently were all the doors, and of all--the bands were loosed;

Nearby Context

Acts 16:24 who such a charge having received, did put them to the inner prison, and their feet made fast in the stocks.

Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas praying, were singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were hearing them,

Acts 16:26 and suddenly a great earthquake came, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, opened also presently were all the doors, and of all--the bands were loosed;

Acts 16:27 and the jailor having come out of sleep, and having seen the doors of the prison open, having drawn a sword, was about to kill himself, supposing the prisoners to be fled,

Acts 16:28 and Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, `Thou mayest not do thyself any harm, for we are all here.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "suddenly", "great", "earthquake", "came", "foundations", "prison", "shaken", and "opened". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "suddenly" and "great", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "And at midnight Paul and Silas praying..." into verse 27's "and the jailor having come out of...", so "suddenly" and "great" 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 "suddenly" and "great" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.