Acts 22 · Verse 29

Acts 22:29

Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

Acts 22:29, King James Version

Acts 22:29 in other translations

BSB	Then those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.
WEB	Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.
ASV	They then that were about to examine him straightway departed from him: and the chief captain also was afraid when he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
YLT	Immediately, therefore, they departed from him who are about to examine him, and the chief captain also was afraid, having learned that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him,
DARBY	Immediately therefore those who were going to examine him left him, and the chiliarch also was afraid when he ascertained that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
BBE	Then those who were about to put him to the test went away: and the chief captain was in fear, seeing that he was a Roman, and that he had put chains on him.
Webster	Then forthwith they departed from him who were about to examine him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

What does Acts 22:29 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 22:27-29

27-29. art thou a Roman?--showing that this being of Tarsus, which he had told him before (Ac 21:39) did not necessarily imply that he was a Roman citizen.

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Barnes' Notes

Verse 29. Then straightway. Immediately. They saw that by scourging him they would have violated the Roman law, and exposed themselves to its penalty.

Which should have examined him. Who were about to torture him by scourging him, Acts 22:24.

Because he had bound him. Preparatory to scourging him. The act of binding a Roman citizen, with such an intent, untried and uncondemned, was unlawful. Prisoners who were to be scourged were usually bound by the Romans to a pillar or post; and a similar custom prevailed among the Jews. That it was unlawful to bind a man, with this intent, who was uncondemned, appears from an express declaration in Cicero, (against Vetres.) "It is a heinous sin to bind a Roman citizen; it is wickedness to beat him; it is next to parricide to kill him; and what shall I say to crucify him?"

(+) "straightway" "immediately" (1) "examined"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 29 After he knew that he was a Roman - He who was going to scourge him durst not proceed to the torture when Paul declared himself to be a Roman. A passage from Cicero, Orat. pro Verr. Act. ii. lib. v. 64, throws the fullest light on this place: Ille, quisquis erat, quem tu in crucem rapiebas, qui tibi esset ignotus, cum civem se Romanum esse diceret, apud te Praetorem, si non effugium, ne moram quidem mortis mentione atque usurpatione civitatis assequi potuit? "Whosoever he might be whom thou wert hurrying to the rack, were he even unknown to thee, if he said that he was a Roman citizen, he would necessarily obtain from thee, the Praetor, by the simple mention of Rome, if not an escape, yet at least a delay of his punishment." The whole of the sixty-fourth and sixty-fifth sections of this oration, which speak so pointedly on this subject, are worthy of consideration. Of this privilege he farther says, Ib. in cap. lvii., Illa vox et exclamatio, Civis Romanus sum, quae saepe multis in ultimis terris opem inter barbaros et salutem tulit, etc. That exclamation, I am a Roman citizen, which often times has brought assistance and safety, even among barbarians, in the remotest parts of the earth, etc. Plutarch likewise, in his Life of Pompey, (vol. iii. p. 445, edit. Bryan), says, concerning the behavior of the pirates, when they had taken any Roman prisoner, Εκεινο δε ην ὑβριϚικωτατον κ. τ. λ. what was the most contumelious was this; when any of those whom they had made captives cried out, Ῥωμαιος ειναι, That He Was a Roman, and told them his name, they pretended to be surprised, and be in a fright, and smote upon their thighs, and fell down (on their knees) to him, beseeching him to pardon them! It is no wonder then that the torturer desisted, when Paul cried out that he was a Roman; and that the chief captain was alarmed, because he had bound him.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 22:22-30

The Jews listened to Paul's account of his conversion, but the mention of his being sent to the Gentiles, was so contrary to all their national prejudices, that they would hear no more. Their frantic conduct astonished the Roman officer, who supposed that Paul must have committed some great crime. Paul pleaded his privilege as a Roman citizen, by which he was exempted from all trials and punishments which might…

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Acts 22:29 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

εὐθέωςeutheōsImmediatelyG2112

οὖνounthereforeG3767

ἀπέστησανapestēsandepartedG868

ἀπ᾽ap᾽fromG575

αὐτοῦautouhimG846

οἱhoithoseG3588

μέλλοντεςmellontesbeing aboutG3195

αὐτὸνautonhimG846

ἀνετάζειν.anetazeinto examine.G426

καὶkaiandG2532

ὁhotheG3588

χιλίαρχοςchiliarchoscommanderG5506

δὲdealsoG1161

ἐφοβήθηephobēthēwas afraidG5399

ἐπιγνοὺςepignoushaving ascertainedG1921

ὅτιhotithatG3754

ῬωμαῖόςRhōmaiosa RomanG4514

ἐστινestinhe isG1510

καὶkaiandG2532

ὅτιhotibecauseG3754

αὐτὸνautonhimG846

ἦνēnhe hadG1510

δεδεκώς.¶dedekōshaving bound.G1210

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 22:29

Acts 21:33
Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
Acts 22:24-26
The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
Hebrews 11:35
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Acts 16:38-39
And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

examined him. or, tortured him.
24; Heb 11:35
the chief.
25,26; 16:38,39

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Acts 22:28
And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Acts 22:29
Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.
Acts 22:30
On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

Read all of Acts 22

Acts 22:29 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Así que, luego se apartaron de él los que le habían de atormentar: y aun el tribuno también tuvo temor, entendido que era Romano, por haberle atado.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Aussitôt donc, ceux qui allaient le mettre à la question se retirèrent de lui; et le chiliarque aussi eut peur, sachant qu’il était Romain, et parce qu’il l’avait fait lier.
German Elberfelder 1871	Alsbald nun standen von ihm ab, die ihn ausforschen sollten; aber auch der Oberste fürchtete sich, als er erfuhr, daß er ein Römer sei, und weil er ihn gebunden hatte.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Protinus ergo discesserunt ab illo qui eum torturi erant. Tribunus quoque timuit postquam rescivit, quia civis Romanus esset, et quia alligasset eum.