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.
But Paul told the guards, “Roman officials have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us in jail, even though we’re Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? There’s no way they’re going to get away with that! Have them escort us out!”
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.
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?
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.
Women received their loved ones back from the dead. Other believers were brutally tortured but refused to be released so that they might gain eternal life.