The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 16:25
But about for and at, A.V.; were praying and singing hymns for prayed and sang praises, A.V.; were listening to(imperfect) for heard, A.V. Prayed , etc. Their proseuche was now the dungeon and the sleeks. But, though they were but two, the Lord was in the midst of them, according to his promise, and manifested his gracious presence in the striking deliverance which follows. Were listening to them ; ἐπακροάομαι , found only here in the New Testament. But the substantive,... read more
The Pulpit Commentary - Acts 16:24
Cast for thrust, A.V. In the stocks ; Greek τὸ ξύλον , sometimes called ξυλοπέδη . The ξύλον was of different forms, and used as a punishment. Sometimes it was a kind of heavy wooden collar put on the neck of a prisoner, whence the phrase, ξύλῳ φιμοῦν τὴν αὐχένα ," To make fast his neck in the pillory." Sometimes it was what Aristophanes calls πεντεσύριγγον ξύλον , "stocks with five holes," two for the feet, two for the hands, and one for the neck. Here, as in ... read more