Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 27:42
And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
42. to kill the prisoners ] This was the advice of the soldiers because, by the Roman law, they were answerable with their own lives for the prisoners placed under their charge.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the soldiers counsel … – Why they gave this advice is not known. It was probably, however, because the Roman military discipline was very strict, and if they escaped it would be charged on them that it had been done by the negligence and unfaithfulness of the soldiers. They therefore proposed to kill them, though contrary to all humanity, justice, and laws; presuming, probably, that it would be supposed that they had perished in the wreck. This is a remarkable proof that people can be cruel even when experiencing the tender mercy of God, and that the most affecting scenes of divine goodness will not mitigate the natural ferocity and cruelty of those who delight in blood.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 42. The soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners] What blood-thirsty, cowardly villains must these have been! Though, through the providence of God, those poor men had escaped a watery grave, and had borne all the anxiety and distresses of this disastrous voyage, as well as the others, now that there is a likelihood of all getting safe to land that could swim, lest these should swim to shore, and so escape, those men, whose trade was in human blood, desired to have them massacred! We have not many traits in the histories of the most barbarous nations that can be a proper counterpart to this quintessence of humano-diabolic cruelty.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This speaks their great ingratitude, that they would take away Pauls life, who had preserved theirs. But Christs apostles and ministers must not look for their reward in this life; though men cannot, or do not, recompense them, they shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just, Luk 14:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
42-44. the soldiers’ counsel was tohill the prisoners, lest any . . . should escapeRoman cruelty,which made the keepers answerable for their prisoners with their ownlives, is here reflected in this cruel proposal.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners,…. Paul, and the rest: this they had not only an inclination to, but they declared it, and gave it as their opinion, and what they thought advisable to be done directly:
lest any of them should swim out and escape; and they should be accountable for them: but this was dreadful wickedness in them to seek to take away the lives of others, when they themselves were in so much danger; and monstrous ingratitude to the Apostle Paul, who had been so much concerned for their lives, and careful of them, and had been the means of saving them, and for whose sake they were saved: the devil must have had a great hand in this.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Counsel was to kill ( —). The soldiers did not relish the idea of the escape of the prisoners. Hence there came this “counsel” (). Regular Greek idiom for purpose ( and aorist active subjunctive of , to kill). Soldiers were responsible for the lives of prisoners (Ac 12:19).
Swim out (). First aorist active participle of , old verb to swim out and so away.
Escape (). Second aorist (effective) active subjunctive of , to make a clean () escape.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And the soldier’s counsel was,” (ton de stratioton boule egeneto) “Now the soldier’s mind (intention or counsel) was,” their purpose and intention was.
2) “To kill the prisoners,” (hina tous desmotas apokteinosin) “That they were to kill the prisoners,” everyone of them, including Paul. This was the advice of the soldiers guarding (in charge of the prisoners), because Roman law made the prison guards answerable, with their own lives, for prisoners under their charge, as certified Act 12:19; Act 16:27.
3) “Lest any of them should swim out, and escape,” (me tis ekkolumbesas diaphuge) “Lest anyone should swim out or away, and escape,” get away from their charge, leaving the soldiers in jeopardy of their own lives before Caesar, by reason of neglect of duty. Roman selfishness and cruelty are also reflected in this heartless proposal.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
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42. The counsel of the soldiers. This was too horrible unthankfulness. Though the soldiers might thank Paul twice or thrice for their lives, yet are they minded to kill him, for whose sake they ought to have spared the rest. He had saved them even as an angel of God; he had given them wholesome counsel; he had refreshed them in the same day when they were past hope; and now they stick not to seek to destroy him, by whom they were so often and so many ways delivered. Wherefore, if it so fall out that we be ill rewarded for our good deeds, there is no cause why the unthankfulness of men should trouble us, which is a disease too common. But they are not only unthankful to Paul, who was the minister of their life, but also their filthy misbelief and forgetfulness of the goodness of God doth betray itself. They had of late received that oracle, that their souls were given to Paul; and now seeing they will be saved after he is dead, what other thing go they about but to resist God, that they may save themselves from death contrary to his will? Therefore, they have now forgotten that grace whereof they tasted against their will in extreme despair, neither doth it taste any longer, − (653) after that they see the haven nigh at hand. But it behoveth us to consider the wonderful counsel of God, as well in saving Paul as in fulfilling his promise; when as he bringeth those men to land, who did what they could to make his promise of none effect. Thus doth his goodness oftentimes strive with the wickedness of men. Yet he doth so pity the wicked, that, deferring their punishment until so fit opportunity, he doth not quite discharge them; yea, the longer he tarrieth, the more grievously he punisheth, and so by that means he maketh amends for his long tarrying.
(653) −
“
Nec amplius quicquam sapit,” nor hath it any longer any relish.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(42) And the soldiers counsel was to kill the prisoners.The vigour of Roman law, which inflicted capital punishment on those who were in charge of prisoners and suffered them to escape (see Notes on Act. 12:19; Act. 16:27), must be remembered, as explaining the apparently wanton cruelty of the proposal. In putting the prisoners to death the soldiers saw the only chance of escaping death themselves.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
42. Soldiers’ counsel As each man must now save himself, the soldiers found it necessary each to separate himself from his prisoner. Yet if one escaped, his keeper was answerable with his life. Hence, a plot was formed to massacre the whole.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the soldiers’ advice was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape, but the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their purpose, and commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves overboard, and get first to the land, and the rest, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. And so it came about that they all escaped safe to the land.
The soldiers then advised their commander that the best thing would be to kill the prisoners in order to prevent them from escaping. They were aware that according to regulations to lose a prisoner could mean punishment for themselves of a type which would have been imposed on the prisoner. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, stopped them from doing so, and commanded rather that all try to get to the shore. Those who could swim were to do so, and get ashore as quickly as possible, and those who could not were to use planks and other floating objects in order to float ashore. And the result was that all escaped to land as God had promised Paul (Act 27:22).
By this Luke lets us know that in spite of the storms God’s work goes forward. All whom He has enrolled/numbered will be saved and none can hinder it.
The Haven. God Reveals That He Is With Paul By Signs (Act 28:1-10).
Having landed in what turned out to be Malta Paul had an encounter with a snake which emphasised that God was protecting him from Satan. This was then followed by signs and wonders. The danger now being passed God was confirming His servant’s status and revealing that His presence was still with him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 27:42-44 . Now, when the loss of the ship was just as certain, as with the proximity of the land the escape of those prisoners who could swim was easily possible, the soldiers were of a mind to kill them; but the centurion was too much attached to Paul to permit it. [175] Not sharing in the apprehension of his soldiers, he commanded that all in the ship who knew how to swim should swim to land, and then the rest (to whom in this way assistance was ready on shore) were to follow partly on planks and partly on broken pieces of the ship.
, ,] there took place a project (in the design), that , etc.; comp. on Act 27:1 , and see Ngelsb. on the Iliad , p. 62, Exo 3 , who on such modes of expression appropriately remarks that “the will is conceived as a striving will.”
, to cast down , intransitive, in the sense of se projicere . See Schaefer, ad Bos Ell . p 127.
] sc. ( e mari ) .
] on planks , which were at hand in the ship.
] on something from the ship , on pieces which had partly broken loose from it by the stranding, so forming wreck ( , ), and were partly torn off by the people themselves for that purpose. denotes both times the local being upon , and the change between dative and genitive is to be regarded as merely accidental. See Bernhardy, p. 200 f.; Khner, 624, ad Xen . Mem . i. Act 1:20 .
In the history of this final rescue, Baumgarten, II. p. 420, has carried to an extreme the arbitrariness of allegorico-spiritual fiction.
[175] In this remark (ver. 43) Zeller conjectures very arbitrarily a later addition to the original narrative, which was designed to illustrate the influence of the apostle upon the Roman.
REMARK 1.
The extraordinarily exact minuteness and vividness in the narrative of this whole voyage justifies the hypothesis that Luke, immediately after its close, during the winter spent in Malta, wrote down this interesting description in the main from fresh recollection, and possibly following notes which he had made for himself even during the voyage perhaps set down in his diary, and at a later period transferred from it to his history.
REMARK 2.
The transition from the first person in which he narrates as a companion sharing the voyage and its fortunes into the third is not to be considered as an accident or an inconsistency, but is founded on the nature of the contents, according to which the sailors specially come into prominence as subject. See Act 27:13 ; Act 27:17-19 ; Act 27:21 ; Act 27:29 ; Act 27:38-41 .
REMARK 3.
If the assumption of the school of Baur as to the set purpose animating the author of the Acts were correct, this narrative of the voyage, with all its collateral circumstances in such detail, would be a meaningless ballast of the book. But it justifies itself in the purely historical destination of the work, and confirms that destination.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
42 And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
Ver. 42. To kill the prisoners ] An ill requital of Paul’s kindness. But soldiers make but a sport of killing men. “Let the young men arise and play before us,” said Abner.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
42. ] gives not only the purpose , but the substance of the . Their counsel was , to kill , &c.: this it was , and to this it tended .
has probably been a correction to suit . But the subjunctive after the past is merely a mixture of construction of the historic past with the historic present, and is used where the scene is intended to be vividly set before the reader.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 27:42 . .: only the soldiers, since they and not the sailors were responsible for the safety of the prisoners, cf. Act 12:7 , Act 16:27 ; C. and H., small edit., p. 236. .: “swim away” (Ramsay), literally “out,” Eur., Hel. , 1609, Dion H., v., 24. .: only here in N.T., LXX, Jos 8:22 , Jdg 7:19 , Pro 19:5 , 1Ma 15:21 , 2Ma 12:35 , etc., so absolutely in Herod., i., 10.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
counsel. Greek. boule. App-102. See Act 27:12.
to kill = in order that (Greek. hina) they might kill.
any = any one. App-123.
of them. Omit.
should swim out, and = having swum out. Greek. ekkolumbao. Only here.
escape = make good his escape. Greek. diapheugo. Only here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
42.] gives not only the purpose, but the substance of the . Their counsel was,-to kill, &c.: this it was, and to this it tended.
has probably been a correction to suit . But the subjunctive after the past is merely a mixture of construction of the historic past with the historic present, and is used where the scene is intended to be vividly set before the reader.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 27:42. , counsel) A cruel, unjust, and ungrateful one. [The soldiers no longer reflected how much they owe to Paul.-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Psa 74:20, Pro 12:10, Ecc 9:3, Mar 15:15-20, Luk 23:40, Luk 23:41
Reciprocal: Act 26:17 – Delivering Act 27:31 – said 1Pe 4:18 – if
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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Act 27:42. When the jailer in chapter 16:27 thought his prisoners had escaped, he intended killing himself rather than be executed (as he thought) by the officers. The soldiers in our verse wanted to kill the prisoners, rather than face their superior officers under the charge of allowing the prisoners to escape. This indicates the harsh rules the Roman government established regarding the responsibility of those having charge of prisoners. It also explains why the Jews felt the necessity of assuring protection for the watchers at the tomb of Jesus. (Mat 28:12-14.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 27:42. The soldiers counsel was to kill the prisoners. We have here an illustration of the extreme cruelty of the Roman military system. But we have also, in however cruel a form, an indication of a high sense of honour and duty. Now that the ship had stuck fast, and they were close to the shore, the fear of the soldiers was that some of the prisoners might swim out and escape. They might have very little hope that they themselves would be saved; but if they themselves were drowned, while their prisoners escaped, their military reputation would be tarnished. In two passages of this Book of the Acts (Act 12:19 and Act 16:27) we have exemplifications of the terrible responsibility of soldiers in charge of prisoners. Each prisoner may originally have been chained to a soldier; but under the circumstances of the moment, and indeed during the voyage, such fastenings would have been loosened.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Act 27:42-44. And In this critical juncture, as there were several prisoners on board, who were to be conveyed in custody to Rome; the soldiers counsel was to kill them A counsel most unjust, ungrateful, and cruel; lest any of them should swim out and escape Out of their hands; of which they were unwilling to run the hazard, as they knew how severe the Roman law was in such cases, where there was any room to suspect the guards of connivance or negligence. But the centurion, willing Or rather, desirous; to save Paul For though he had despised his advice, (Act 27:11,) yet he afterward saw much cause to respect him, and therefore prevented the soldiers from executing their purpose. Thus God, for Pauls sake, not only saved all the rest of the ships company from being lost in the sea, but preserved the prisoners from being murdered, according to the unjust and barbarous proposal of the soldiers, who could have thought of no worse a scheme, had they all been condemned malefactors, and had these guards, instead of conveying them to their trial, been carrying them to the place of execution. Commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land That they might be helpful to others in getting on shore; and the rest, some on boards, &c. Still using means, though it was of God only that they had those means, and that the means were made effectual for their preservation. And it came to pass Through the singular care of Divine Providence, and according to the prediction of Paul; that they escaped all safe to land And there was not one single life lost; and some of them, doubtless, received the apostle as a teacher sent from God. These would find their deliverance from the fury of the sea but an earnest of an infinitely greater deliverance, and are, long ere this, lodged with him in a more peaceful harbour than Malta, or than earth could afford.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
42. At this critical juncture there was exhibited by the soldiers an instance of depravity even greater than that of the sailors the night before. They owed their present prospect of safety to the watchfulness of Paul, yet they felt no apparent gratitude to him, and while hoping to escape themselves, they were regardless of the lives of himself and the other prisoners. (42) “Now the purpose of the soldiers was, that they would kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape.” Such is the depravity of human nature, when void of religious truth, and trained to the cruelties of war.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
42. It was the counsel of the soldiers that they may kill the prisoners lest some one, out-swimming them, may escape. Roman law was awfully rigid with the guards, taking their lives as a substitute in case they permitted prisoners to escape. They now saw that it would be impossible for them to manage the prisoners in the water, as everyone would have to swim for his life and very probably some of the prisoners would prove more rapid swimmers than the soldiers, thus excelling them in the swimming match, reaching the land first and making their escape.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
27:42 {12} And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
(12) There is nowhere more unfaithfulness and unthankfulness in unbelievers.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The soldiers would have had to pay with their lives if their prisoners escaped (cf. Act 12:19; Act 16:27). The centurion was willing to take responsibility for the prisoners’ safety to spare Paul’s life. This unusual concern for the apostle raises the unanswerable question of whether this man may have become a Christian on this trip. God kept His promise to keep Paul and his fellow travelers safe (cf. Act 27:24).
A British yachtsman and scholar who was familiar with the parts of the Mediterranean Sea that Paul covered on this journey retraced Paul’s route in the first part of the nineteenth century. His book relates his experiences and findings. It is fascinating reading and confirms the accuracy of Luke’s references in this chapter. [Note: James Smith, The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul.]
This unusually dramatic and vivid chapter stresses God’s sovereign control over circumstances to bring His will to pass, specifically that Paul should minister in Rome. It reminds us of Jesus’ ability to control the winds and the waves of Galilee to accomplish His will and to communicate His identity. He had sent His disciples into a storm (Luk 8:22-25) just as He had sent Paul. Jesus had predicted that He would build His church and that Hades’ gates would not overwhelm it (Mat 16:18). This chapter shows to what lengths God will go to remain faithful to His promises.