Acts 22:29

At once those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The text identifies the guards preparing to interrogate Paul and the Roman commander who ordered his binding. This moment follows Paul’s declaration of Roman citizenship and the commander’s admission that he purchased his status.

The words — The Greek εὐθέως (eutheōs) translates to “immediately,” and ἀπέστησαν (apēstēsan) means “stepped back” or “departed.” These terms record the abrupt halt of the planned examination.

The thread — The commander’s alarm over chaining a Roman citizen parallels the magistrates’ reaction in Acts 16:38 and follows the initial binding in Acts 21:33. The procedural reversal continues in Acts 22:30 when the commander releases Paul to convene the Sanhedrin.

Why it lands — The passage requires acknowledging that Roman legal status can abruptly override military procedure. It presents a factual boundary where civic identity halts human authority without moral commentary.

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 straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

Cross-references

Acts 21:33 The commander came up and arrested Paul, ordering that he be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.
Acts 22:24 the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him.
Acts 16:38 So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
Hebrews 11:35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.