Acts 16:27

Act_16:27-28

And the keeper of the prison … would have killed himself.

Suicide

Suicide is not to fear death, but yet to be afraid of life. It is a brave act of valour to contemn death; but where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valour to dare to live; and herein religion has taught us a noble example; for all the valiant acts of Cartius, Scoevola, or Codrus do not parallel or match that of Job. (Sir Thomas Browne.)

Suicide at Philippi

Philippi is famous in the annals of suicide. Here Cassius, unable to survive defeat, covered his face in the empty tent, and ordered his freedmen to strike the blow. His messenger, Titinius, held it to be a Romans part, to follow the stern example. Here Brutus bade adieu to his friends, exclaiming, Certainly we must fly, yet not with the feet, but with the hands; and many whose names have never reached us, ended their last struggle for the republic by self-inflicted death. Here, too, another despairing man would have committed the same crime, had not his hand been arrested by an apostles voice. Instead of a sudden and hopeless death, the jailer received at the hands of his prisoner the gift both of temporal and spiritual life. (J. S. Howson, D. D.)

Do thyself no harm.--

Religion a safeguard

I. The alarm of the keeper of the prison. The tokens of the Divine presence were earthquakes, the opening of doors, and the loosing of bonds. In this manner God bore a testimony to His faithful servants, and prepared the way for the jailers conversion. But the moral terror was the most memorable thing in his history. God used terrific means with a view to a peaceful and merciful end. He was first reduced to despair of himself, and next led to hope in Christ. The degrees of terror are different in different minds. Lydia was brought by calm and peaceful means; the jailer by solemn and arousing ones. Some doubt whether they are converted, because they have not passed through strong convictions, agonies of terror. Let them look at Lydia. That man has had terror enough, be it much or little, if he has been brought to Christ. Our state is to be determined, not by our former emotions, but by our present conduct.

II. The language of St. Paul to him: Do thyself no harm. The text suggests three great truths--

1. That it is the tendency of sin to harm the sinner. He does not think so in the outset of his career; but he finds it out very soon. We follow evil under the forms of good. The enemy of souls first allures, and then destroys. Sin wounds the conscience; blights the reputation; injures the sinner in his worldly circumstances; destroys the happiness of his family; shortens his days; ruins his soul. As the shadow follows the body, so do plagues follow sin.

2. That it is the design of religion to be a moral safeguard and blessing. It is favourable to a peaceful conscience; to a good name; to worldly prosperity; to family comfort; to length of days; to a peaceful death; and joyful eternity. The gospel is a preservative as well as a restorative system.

3. That it is the office of the ministry to interfere, by its counsels and warnings, between man and misery. Paul cried with a loud voice.

III. The improvement it suggests to ourselves. Believe and obey the gospel. It is a remedy suited to all times and persons.

1. By way of inquiry. Have we taken the first step in the road to heaven?

2. By way of caution. Guard against the beginning of sin.

3. By way of invitation to penitents. Turn to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope.

4. Encouragement to Christians derived from the ascertained connection between faith and salvation. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. (The Evangelist.)

Self-preservation

Do thyself no harm.

I. Physically. The body is Gods handiwork, fearfully and wonderfully made. It has been redeemed by Christ, and is a temple of the Holy Ghost. Do not harm it therefore--

1. By overwork.

2. By excessive exercise.

3. By undue exposure.

4. By enervating indolence or pleasure.

5. By neglecting the means of its support in health or its recovery in sickness. We shall have to give an account for deeds done in the body in more senses than one.

II. Mentally. How august the gift of intellect with its faculties of memory, reason, imagination, etc., and how delicate and susceptible of injury. There are laws of mind as well of matter which cannot be disobeyed without severe retribution. Do thy mind no harm--

1. By overstrain. Some of the highest in examination lists have done poorly in life, because their academic honours represent not so much useful and healthy knowledge, but so much cram.

2. By neglect. The mind gets into an otiose and diseased state for want of exercise.

III. Emotionally. How rich a gift is feeling, and how soon and easily is the heart injured or broken! Do thyself no harm--

1. By over-sensitiveness.

2. By deliberate petrifaction.

3. By anxiety. Guard love against unworthy objects; hope against unreasonable expectations; joy against exhaustible sources. Cultivate the best friendships; Be content with such things as ye have; never despair.

IV. Spiritually. Here the greatest harm can be done. Here injury may be irreparable.

1. Communion with God, who is the souls life, may be broken off.

2. The soul may die to its richest inheritance in time and eternity. Do it no harm, therefore, by neglecting the means of grace, prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, etc., nor by the allowance of any known sin.

V. Socially. Under this head may be grouped a variety of interests in which great damage may be done. A man may harm himself--

1. Commercially, by unwise speculations, wrong methods, indolence, etc.

2. In his friendships by bad associations, want of thought, forbearance, etc.

3. Politically. The Christian and unfailing rule of self-preservation is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God … and thy neighbour as thyself. (J. W. Burn.)

Providential deliverance

A young gentleman spent his fortune in riotous living and was reduced to poverty. For a time his friends supported him; but at last they all forsook him. Wandering about as a vagabond, and having no prospect of a further supply, he resolved to drown himself. Being then in a strange place, he went to the riverside; but waiting till it was dark, he saw a light in a house and went to it. The people there were singing; he listened, and after hearing a chapter from the Bible and a prayer, he knocked at the door and was admitted. In the astonishing kindness of Providence the passage for consideration was the one before us. After several members had made their remarks they concluded, as usual, with prayer, after which the stranger asked how they came to know his thoughts, for he had not mentioned his purpose to any person on earth. This equally surprised the audience, for they had not seen or heard of him till now. Upon which the young gentleman told them his design and how it had been prevented. This remarkable providence struck him to such a degree that, by the Divine blessing, it was made the means of his conversion. He became an eminent Christian, regained the favour of his friends, and lived a useful and godly life.

Timely advice

When Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, about seven oclock in the evening, he exclaimed, Sauve qui peut, and rode off the field to Charleroi. But that was after his campaigns had stained his sword with the blood and tears of millions, and when the three preceding days had been marked by the fall of 40,000 French, 16,000 Prussians, and 13,000 British and Germans. Pauls advice, Do thyself no harm, was given in time to prevent mischief, and this is the timely and standing counsel of the gospel to the men of all nationalities in all ages. (H. Peach, LL. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16:27-36 Luke’s third portrait in Philippi is of the Philippian jailer who, shaken by what had happened, responded in faith when challenged to accept the Lord Jesus and be saved. He was baptized with his household and rejoiced in his newfound faith as he reached out with hospitality to the preachers.

16:27 The Roman jailer clearly knew that his life could be forfeited if the prisoners for whom he was responsible escaped. This was standard practice (12:19; 27:42; cp. Code of Justinian 9.4.4).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 16:27. Ἔξυπνος, awaking out of sleep) suddenly.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_16:27-28. The jailor, aroused by the shock and the noise, hastens to the prison, and when he sees the doors which (one behind another) led to it open, and so takes it for granted that the prisoners have escaped, he wishes, from fear of the vengeance of the praetors, to kill himselfwhich (in opposition to Zellers objection) he may have sufficiently indicated by expressions of his despair. Then Paul calls, etc.

μάχαιραν] a sword, which he got just at hand (Mar_14:47); with the article it would denote the sword which he was then wearing, his sword.

ἅπαντες] Thus the rest of the prisoners, involuntarily detained by the whole miraculous event, and certainly also in part by the imposing example of Paul and Silas, had not used their release from chains (Act_16:26) and the opening of the prison for their own liberation. The ἐνθάδε does not affirm that they had all come together into the prison of Paul, but only stands opposed to ἐκπεφευγέναι. None is away; we are, all and every one, here!

The loosening of the chains, moreover, and that without any injury to the limbs of the enchained, is, in view of the miraculous character of the event, not to be judged according to the laws of mechanics (in opposition to Gfrörer, Zeller), any more than the omission of flight on the part of the other prisoners is to be judged according to the usual practice of criminals. The prisoners were arrested, and felt themselves sympathetically detained by the miracle which had happened; and therefore the suggestion to which Chrysostom has recourse, that they had not seen the opening of the doors, is inappropriate.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 16:27 . ἔξυπνος : only here in N.T., once in LXX, Est 3:3Est 3:3 , of Darius waking from sleep. μάχαιραν : article omitted in T.R., see critical note. Weiss thinks that the omission occurs since in Act 12:2 , and five times in Luke, no article is found with μάχαιρα . τὴν = his sword, cf. Mar 14:47 . ἤμελλεν , cf. Act 3:3 , Act 5:35 , Act 12:6 , etc., characteristic Lucan word, see Friedrich, p. 12. The act was quite natural, the act of a man who had lost in his terror his self-control (Weiss). ἑαυτὸν ἀναιρεῖν : to avoid the disgraceful fate which would be allotted to him by Roman law, according to which the jailor was subjected to the same death as the escaped prisoners would have suffered (Wetstein, in loco ), cf. Act 12:19 , Act 27:42 . νομίζων , see on Act 7:25 . It seems hypercritical to ask, How could Paul have seen that the jailor was about to kill himself? That there must have been some kind of light in the outer prison is evident, otherwise the jailor could not have even seen that the doors were open, nor is there any difficulty in supposing that Paul out of the darkness of the inner prison would see through the opened doors any one in the outer doorway, whilst to the jailor the inner prison would be lost in darkness. Moreover, as Blass notes, Paul may have heard from the jailor’s utterances what he meant to do: “neque enim tacuisse putandus est” (see also Ramsay, Felten, Hackett, Lumby, in loco ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The merciful Lord, so oft as he listeth, draweth men to life, even through the midst of death, and whereas justly they deserved great punishment, he showeth them great mercy.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

the keeper . . . awaking . . . drew . . . his sword, and would have killed himself, &c.--knowing that his life was forfeited in that case (Act 12:19; and compare Act 27:42).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 27. The keeper of the prison - would have killed himself] Every jailor was made responsible for his prisoner, under the same penalty to which the prisoner himself was exposed. The jailor, awaking, and finding the prison-doors open, taking it for granted that all the prisoners had made their escape, and that he must lose his life on the account, chose rather to die by his own hand than by that of others. For it was customary among the heathens, when they found death inevitable, to take away their own lives. This custom was applauded by their philosophers, and sanctioned by some of their greatest men.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. When the keeper of the prison was awaked. He would have slain himself that he might prevent punishment; for it had been a foolish answer to have said that the doors were opened of their own accord. But this question may be asked, Seeing that Paul seeth that they might have some hope to escape if he should slay himself, why doth he hinder him? for he seemeth by this means to refuse the deliverance which was offered by God; yea, it seemeth to have been a mere toy, in that the Lord would have the jailer awaked, lest there should be any use of the miracle. I answer, that we must in this place have respect unto his counsel and purpose. For he did not loose Paul and Silas, and the rest, from their fetters, neither did he, therefore, open the doors, that he might straightway let them go free; but that, by showing the power of his hand, he might seal up the faith of Paul and Silas, and might make the name of Christ glorious among others. Therefore, he doth so yield to the petitions of Paul and Silas, that he showeth that he is able enough to deliver them so often as he shall think it good; and that nothing can hinder him, but that he is able to enter not only into prisons, but also into graves, that he may deliver those that be his. He opened the gates of the prison to Peter to another end, as we saw in chapter twelve. But now, forasmuch as he had another way in readiness to deliver Paul and Silas, he meant not so much to deliver them for the present time by miracle, as to confirm them against the time to come. Again, we must call that to mind which I said of late, that the opening of the prison appertained unto others, that it might be known to many witnesses that God did favor the doctrine, which was now burthened with an unjust prejudice. Undoubtedly, Paul perceived this; and therefore, though his hands were loosed, he did not once wag from his place. He might have gone away, if he had been so disposed. Why doth he not? Was it because he contemned the grace of God? or because, through his slothfulness, he will make the miracle frustrate? None of all these is probable; whence we gather that he was holden by God, as the Lord useth to direct the minds of those which be his in doubtful matters, that they may follow sometimes ignorantly, sometimes wittingly, that which is expedient to be done, and not pass their bounds.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(27) He drew out his sword, and would have killed himself.—We have seen in Act_12:19 what was to be expected by a gaoler who, under any circumstances, allowed a prisoner to escape. (See also Note on Act_27:42.) Here the man sought to anticipate his fate. Suicide was a natural resource under such conditions everywhere, but here there was a local predisposing influence. Philippi, after the great battle in which Brutus and Cassius had been defeated by Antonius, had been conspicuous for the number of those who had thus preferred death to the abandonment of the Republic and the loss of freedom. This act had been looked on as heroic (Plutarch, Brutus, c. 52), and was naturally enough contagious.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. And the keeper of the prison] The word is rendered jailor in 23, and might well be so here (as R. V.), otherwise the English reader supposes the Greek to be varied from this variation of translation.

awaking out of his sleep] The word is only found here in N. T., and has the sense of a startled rousing.

drew out his sword] We now say rather “drew his sword.” He probably slept in such a place that on rising he could observe at a glance whether the prison doors were secure, and had his weapon close at hand so that he might seize and use it on any emergency. He must also have been so near to the open doors before he manifested any design of suicide that the prisoners within could see what he was doing. St Paul out of the dark could observe him before the jailor could see farther than the opened doors.

would have killed himself] He knew what his fate would be. See Act_12:19; and compare Act_27:42, for the way in which Roman officials must answer with their lives for the escape of prisoners. Suicide under such circumstances would to the jailor’s mind present the easiest way out of his difficulties, and the teaching of even the greatest minds both of Greece and Rome was that it was justifiable and under some circumstances praiseworthy. The suicide of Cato (Catonis nobile letum) furnished a constant text for such teaching. (Cp. Cic. Tusc. 1. §§ 9–119, Plat. Apol. 40.)

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep,.... Not so much by the loud voices of Paul and Silas, as by the uncommon motion of the earth, which so shook him, as thoroughly to awake him:

and seeing the prison doors open; which was the first thing in his fright he was looking after, and careful of, and which he might perceive, though it was midnight, and though as yet he had no light:

he drew out his sword; from its scabbard, which was girt about him; for it may be he had slept with his clothes on, and his sword girt to him; or if he had put on his clothes upon awaking, he had also girt himself with his sword:

and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled; especially Paul and Silas, concerning whom he had received such a strict charge from the magistrates; and he knew that according to law, he must suffer the same punishment that was designed for them; and therefore in fear of the magistrates, and what they would inflict upon him, he was just going to destroy himself.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

Ver. 27. And the keeper of the prison] In whom the earthquake had wrought a heartquake, as it had also (though not to so good purpose) in the magistrates, Act 16:35. {See Trapp on "Act 16:35"} We read that the people of Antioch, though many of them gave their hands for Chrysostom’s banishment; yet, terrified by an earthquake, immediately they sent for him again.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Would have killed himself - This was done in the midst of agitation and alarm. He supposed that the prisoners had fled. He presumed that their escape would be charged on him. It was customary to hold a jailor responsible for the safe keeping of prisoners, and to subject him to the punishment due them if he suffered them to escape. See Act 12:19. It should be added that it was common and approved among the Greeks and Romans for a man to commit suicide when he was encompassed with dangers from which he could not escape. Thus, Cato was guilty of self-murder in Utica; and thus, at this very place - Philippi - Brutus and Cassius, and many of their friends, fell on their own swords, and ended their lives by suicide. The custom was thus sanctioned by the authority and example of the great; and we are not to wonder that the jailor, in a moment of alarm, should also attempt to destroy his own life. It is not one of the least benefits of Christianity that it has proclaimed the evil of self-murder, and has done so much to drive it from the world.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Awaking out of his sleep, by the earthquake, which being upon an extraordinary occasion, could not fail to do all that God intended by it.

Would have killed himself, for fear of suffering a more cruel death; for all jailers, who let any prisoner escape, were to suffer the same punishment that the prisoners were thought to have deserved; and self-murder was very ordinary amongst both the Romans and Grecians. But whatsoever their philosophers have said of it, it must needs have been a very great provocation against God, to show so great an aversion from God’s will, disposing of them and their concerns in this world, and challenging or daring of him to do worse by them in the world to come. Men must have sad comforts, and take desperate resolutions, that come to this at once.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Keeper… awaking—Luke omits his rising and hurrying to the prison cells with a dim torch for examination. He has seen at a glance that the doors are open, and hastily concludes that all have fled. He is before the open cell of Paul more visible, by the light of his own torch, to Paul than Paul to him.

Drew out his sword—He forthwith determines to forestall a worse fate by suicide. “By the Roman law,” says Howson, “the jailer was to undergo the same punishment which the malefactors who escaped by his negligence were to have suffered.” From the escape of the apostles alone he may not have dreaded death; but with how many deaths may not the escape of all the prisoners have overwhelmed him!

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The jailor being roused for the keeper of the prison awaking, A.V.; sleep for his sleep, A.V.; drew for he drew out, A.V.; was about to kill for would have killed, A.V.; escaped for been fled, A.V.. This readiness to kill himself rather than incur the disgrace of failure in his charge is characteristic of the Roman soldier. (comp. Act_27:43)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27-34. The awakened and panic-stricken jailer, knowing that cruel Roman law will require his life as substitute for the fugitive prisoner, in the absence of Bible light on suicide, and with the noble examples of Cicero, the prince of Roman authors, and Cato, the champion Roman statesman, and many other mighty men who had preceded him in suicide, resolved at once to add his name to the honored catalogue. Through the wide-open doors Paul sees him in the act of killing himself, fortunately in time to save his life. This heathen jailer was a wicked, ungodly, ignorant man, acquiescent in the clamor of the roaring mob, and the verdict of the cruel magistrates; he looked upon Paul and Silas as black with crime, notwithstanding their street preaching had rung in his ears and left upon his memory their attitude as the avowed heralds of the most high God. The awful earthquake and the utter indisposition of the apostles to escape now send a lightning bolt of conviction to the bottom of his heart, precipitating him into a radical, true and hearty repentance, putting him on believing ground as a penitent sinner, where he has nothing to do but receive justification by faith. Therefore Paul commands him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou and thy family shall be saved.” Here you see clearly and unequivocally that faith is the only condition necessary to the justification of a sinner, the exercise of this faith being utterly impossible till he gets on believing ground, which can only be reached by a genuine repentance wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost. Here we see that Paul assures the jailer that not only himself but his family shall be saved on condition of his faith. Parents, take courage, if you are truly faithful to God; here is a promise for the salvation of your families. It does not follow that they will be saved without personal faith, which God in due time will confer on them, pursuant to your faith. Now the jailer is converted and baptized that very hour, along with his family.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. The jailer seems not to have heard the singing, but was awakened by the motion of the earthquake, the slamming of the doors, and the clanking of the fetters which fell from the hands of the prisoners. (27) " And the jailer, awaking out of sleep, and seeing the prison-doors open, drew his sword, and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled. " It was not so dark as to prevent him from seeing, to some extent, what had taken place. He supposed that the prisoners had, as a matter of course, all rushed out through the open doors. He knew what the penalty, under Roman law, for allowing prisoners to escape, was death; and that peculiar code of honor among the Romans, which made them prefer to die by their own hands, rather than by that of an enemy or an executioner, drove him to this attempt at suicide.

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

General Information:

Here the word "we" refers to Paul, Silas, and all of the other prisoners but excludes the jailer. (See: Exclusive and Inclusive "We")

The jailer was awakened from sleep

This can be stated in active form. AT: "The jailer woke up" (See: Active or Passive)

was about to kill himself

"was ready to kill himself." The jailer preferred to commit suicide rather than suffer the consequences of letting the prisoners escape.

translationWords

prison

sword

Paul

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

27. ἔξυπνος δὲ γενόμενος ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ, and the jailor awaking out of his sleep. For ἔξυπνος cf. 1Es 3:3, ὁ βασιλεὺς … ἐκοιμήθη καὶ ἔξυπνος ἐγένετο. It is only found in N.T. in this verse.

σπασάμενος μάχαιραν, having drawn his sword. The jailor probably slept in such a place that on rising he could observe at a glance whether the prison doors were secure, and had his weapon close at hand so that he might seize and use it on any emergency. He must also have been so near to the open doors before he manifested any design of suicide that the prisoners within could see what he was doing. St Paul out of the dark could observe him before the jailor could see farther than the opened doors.

ἤμελλεν ἑαντὸν ἀναιρεῖν, he was about to kill himself. For he knew what his fate would be. See Act 12:19; and compare Act 27:42, for the way in which Roman officials must answer with their lives for the escape of prisoners. Suicide under such circumstances would to the jailor’s mind present the easiest way out of his difficulties, and the teaching of even the greatest minds both of Greece and Rome was that it was justifiable and under some circumstances praiseworthy. The suicide of Cato (Catonis nobile letum) furnished a constant text for such teaching. (Cf. Cic. Tusc. I. §§ 9–119; Plat. Apol. 40.)

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. ἤμελ. ἑαυτ. ἀναιρ.] The law de Custodia Reorum (Wetst.) says, ‘Ad commentariensem receptarum personarum custodia observatioque pertineat, nec putet, hominem abjectum atque vilem objiciendum esse judici, si reus modo aliquo fuerit elapsus. Nam ipsum volumus hujusmodi pœnæ consumi, cui obnoxius docebitur fuisse, qui fugerit.’ Dean Howson notices, by the examples of Cassius, Brutus, Titinius, and many of the proscribed, after the battle,—that Philippi is famous in the annals of suicide (p. 361).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Would have killed [εμελλεν αναιρειν] . Rev., more correctly, was about to kill. Knowing that he must suffer death for the escape of his prisoners.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.