Acts 16:33

At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrative describes the Philippian jailer acting immediately after Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and everyone in his house. At that specific hour of the night, he tends to the apostles' wounds before proceeding with a religious act.

The words — παραλαβὼν (paralabōn) translates to "having taken" or "having received," marking the jailer's immediate physical response to the apostles. ἐκεὶνῃ ὥρᾳ (ekeinē hōra) functions as a strict temporal marker, emphasizing the unbroken sequence of his actions.

The thread — Household baptism recurs as a narrative pattern in Acts 16:15 and 1 Corinthians 1:16, where family units are baptized following a patriarchal or matriarchal lead. Luke 10:33 introduces the thematic parallel of immediate compassion meeting urgent need, though the Acts passages frame that response within a domestic conversion context.

Why it lands — The text records a rapid sequence of practical care followed by immediate baptism for a family unit. It requires the reader to note that the narrative presents household baptism as a direct, unhesitating response to the preached word, without elaborating on individual faith states within that group.

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

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 1:16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else.
Acts 16:15 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Luke 10:33 But a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.
Isaiah 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
Luke 19:9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham.
Acts 16:23 And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.