Bible Strands
Acts 16:29
Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Philippian jailer acts immediately after Paul shouts to stop his suicide attempt. He enters the prison cell to face Paul and Silas at the moment his own failure becomes apparent.
The words — The Greek εἰσεπήδησεν (eisepēdēsen) literally means he rushed in, while ἔντρομος (entromos) describes his physical state as terrified. These terms record the guard's sudden, fearful movement toward the prisoners.
The thread — This trembling approach parallels the fear of divine authority in Daniel 6:26 and Revelation 3:9, where shaking precedes the acknowledgment of God's living power. The text places the jailer's reaction within a broader scriptural pattern of human fear meeting divine presence.
Why it lands — The narrative requires a reader to see panic as the immediate catalyst for spiritual questioning. It demands that one abandon self-destruction and directly ask for the means of salvation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
Cross-references
- Revelation 3:9 As for those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.
- Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
- Daniel 6:26 I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.
- Psalms 99:1 The LORD reigns; let the nations tremble! He is enthroned above the cherubim; let the earth quake!
- Psalms 119:120 My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 66:2 Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.
- Isaiah 66:5 You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the LORD: “Your brothers who hate you and exclude you because of My name have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified that we may see your joy!’ But they will be put to shame.”
- Jeremiah 5:22 Do you not fear Me?” declares the LORD. “Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary for the sea, an enduring barrier it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot cross it.
- Acts 9:5 “Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.