As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the officer, “May I say something to you?” The officer replied to Paul, “Can you speak Greek?
Some of the crowd shouted one thing, while others shouted something else. The officer couldn’t get any facts because of the noise and confusion, so he ordered Paul to be taken into the barracks.
So the officer ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the barracks and told them to question Paul as they whipped him. The officer wanted to find out why the people were yelling at Paul like this.
The quarrel was becoming violent, and the officer was afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces. So the officer ordered his soldiers to drag Paul back to the barracks.