The Meaning of Acts 16:33 Explained

Acts 16:33

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

YLT: and having taken them, in that hour of the night, he did bathe them from the blows, and was baptized, himself and all his presently,

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

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Acts 16:33 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 16:25-40 - Salvation In The Jail
Some, as we have seen, are converted by the gentle opening of the heart; others amid the convulsions of the storm. The first knowledge of salvation may have reached the heart of the jailer through the saving of the possessed girl, Acts 16:17. If only the heart is right with Christ, it can sing in the darkest night; and the impression of those holy songs must have wrought still further upon the conscience of this rough Roman official, who had treated his prisoners with uncommon severity, Acts 16:24. The inner prison! Perhaps some of our readers have been in it! They have come to an end of themselves and their feet are fastened!
But God has His own way of deliverance and never forsakes His own. Art thou in the stocks today? Then pray and sing praises! Choose, for instance, Psalms 103:1-22. God will be thy very present help. Thou shalt win thy jailer, and become a monument of God's saving mercy. There is no course for the convicted sinner but to trust in the salvation wrought upon the Cross; or still better, in Him who wrought it.
Paul was perfectly justified in insisting upon his civil rights when he had the opportunity, Acts 16:37. It made the way easier for his new converts. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 16

1  Paul and Silas are Joined by Timothy,
7  and being called by the Spirit from one country to another,
14  convert Lydia,
16  and cast out a spirit of divination;
19  for which cause they are whipped and imprisoned
25  The prison doors are opened
31  The jailor is converted,
35  and they are delivered

Greek Commentary for Acts 16:33

Washed their stripes [ελουσεν απο των πληγων]
Deissmann (Bible Studies, p. 227) cites an inscription of Pergamum with this very construction of απο — apo and the ablative, to wash off, though it is an old verb. This first aorist active indicative of λουω — louō to bathe, succinctly shows what the jailor did to remove the stains left by the rods of the lictors (Acts 16:22). Νιπτω — Niptō was used for washing parts of the body. [source]
And was baptized, he and all his, immediately [και εβαπτιστη αυτος και οι αυτου απαντες παραχρημα]
The verb is in the singular agreeing with αυτος — autos but it is to be supplied with οι αυτου — hoi autou and it was done at once. [source]
He took [παραλαβὼν]
Strictly, “took them along with ( παρά )him:” to some other part of the prison. [source]
Washed their stripes [ἔλουσεν ἀπὸ τῶν πληγῶν]
Properly, “washed them from ( ἀπό ) their stripes.” The verb λούειν , expresses the bathing of the entire body (Hebrews 10:23; Acts 9:37; 2 Peter 2:22); while νίπτειν commonly means the washing of a part of the body (Matthew 6:17; Mark 7:3; John 13:5). The jailer bathed them; cleansing them from the blood with which they were besprinkled from the stripes. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 16:33

Luke 5:2 Were washing []
From the sand and pebbles accumulated during the night's work. Luke uses four different words for washing or cleansing: πλύνω , here, see also Revelation 7:14; ἀπομάσσω , of wiping the dust from the feet, only at Luke 10:11; ἐκμάσσω , of the woman wiping Christ's feet with her hair, Luke 7:38, Luke 7:44; ἀπολούω , of washing away sins, Acts 22:16; λούω , of washing the prisoners' stripes and the body of Dorcas, Acts 16:33; Acts 9:37. The reading ἀποπλύνω is rejected by the best texts, so that ἀπομάσσω is the only one peculiar to Luke. All the words were common in medical language. [source]
Luke 5:2 Were washing [επλυνον]
Imperfect active, though some MSS. have aorist επλυναν — eplunan Vincent comments on Luke‘s use of five verbs for washing: this one for cleaning, απομασσω — apomassō for wiping the dust from one‘s feet (Luke 10:11), εκμασσω — ekmassō of the sinful woman wiping Christ‘s feet with her hair (Luke 7:38, Luke 7:44), απολουω — apolouō of washing away sins (symbolically, of course) as in Acts 22:16, and λουω — louō of washing the body of Dorcas (Acts 9:37) and the stripes of the prisoners (Acts 16:33). On “nets” see note on Matthew 4:18 and note on Mark 1:16. [source]
John 9:7 Wash [νίψαι]
Wash the eyes. See on Acts 16:33. [source]
John 14:3 And receive [παραλήψομαι]
Here the future tense, will receive. Rev., therefore, much better: I come again and will receive you. The change of tense is intentional, the future pointing to the future personal reception of the believer through death. Christ is with the disciple alway, continually “coming” to him, unto the end of the world. Then He will receive him into that immediate fellowship, where he “shall see Him as He is.” The verb παραλαμβάνω is used in the New Testament of taking along with (Matthew 4:5, note; Matthew 17:1, note; Acts 16:33, note): of taking to (Matthew 1:20; John 14:3): of taking from, receiving by transmission; so mostly in Paul (Galatians 1:12; Colossians 2:6; Colossians 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13, etc. See also Matthew 24:40, Matthew 24:41). It is scarcely fanciful to see the first two meanings blended in the use of the verb in this passage. Jesus, by the Spirit, takes His own along with Him through life, and then takes them to His side at death. He himself conducts them to Himself. [source]
John 1:11 Received [παρέλαβον]
Most commonly in the New Testament of taking one along with another. See on Matthew 4:5; see on Matthew 17:1; see on Acts 16:33. But also of accepting or acknowledging one to be what he professes to be, and of receiving something transmitted, as 1 Corinthians 11:23; Galatians 1:12, etc. Westcott thinks this latter sense is implied here; Christ having been offered by the teachers of Israel through John. Alford adopts the former sense; “expressing the personal assumption to one's self as a friend or companion.” De Wette explains to receive into the house. Godet strains a point by explaining as welcomed. De Wette's explanation seems to agree best with his own home. Here again compare the nice choice of verbs: apprehended ( κατέλαβεν ) the Light as a principle, and received ( παρέλαβον ) the Light as a person and the Master of the house. [source]
Acts 22:16 Wash away [ἀπόλουσαι]
See on Acts 16:33. [source]
Acts 16:34 Brought [ἀναγαγών]
Lit., “brought up ( ἀνά )His house would seem to have been above the court of the prison where they were. See on took, Acts 16:33. [source]
2 Corinthians 6:5 In stripes [εν πληγαις]
In blows, wounds (Luke 10:30; Luke 12:48; Acts 16:23, Acts 16:33). Our plague. [source]
Revelation 7:14 Have washed [ἔπλυναν]
The aorist tense. Rev., correctly, they washed. Only here and Luke 5:2, on which see note. For the New Testament words for washing, see on Acts 16:33. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 16:33 mean?

And having taken them in that - hour of the night he washed [them] from the wounds he was baptized he the [household] of him all immediately
καὶ παραλαβὼν αὐτοὺς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς νυκτὸς ἔλουσεν ἀπὸ τῶν πληγῶν ἐβαπτίσθη αὐτὸς οἱ αὐτοῦ πάντες παραχρῆμα

παραλαβὼν  having  taken 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: παραλαμβάνω  
Sense: to take to, to take with one’s self, to join to one’s self.
ἐκείνῃ  that 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ἐκεῖνος  
Sense: he, she it, etc.
τῇ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ὥρᾳ  hour 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ὥρα  
Sense: a certain definite time or season fixed by natural law and returning with the revolving year.
τῆς  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
νυκτὸς  night 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: νύξ  
Sense: night.
ἔλουσεν  he  washed  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λούω  
Sense: to bathe, wash.
πληγῶν  wounds 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: πληγή  
Sense: a blow, stripe, a wound.
ἐβαπτίσθη  he  was  baptized 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: βαπτίζω  
Sense: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk).
οἱ  the  [household] 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
παραχρῆμα  immediately 
Parse: Adverb
Root: παραχρῆμα  
Sense: immediately, forthwith, instantly.