16:22a

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas: This clause in Greek is literally “The crowd rose up together against them.” There were usually many people in a marketplace. So this crowd joined the owners in being against Paul and Silas. Here in front of the magistrates, the crowd only yelled at Paul and Silas, rather than physically hitting them. Other ways to translate this clause are:

The crowd rose up together against them (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
The crowd joined in and showed its hostility to them (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
the many-people joined in shouting to accuse them

16:22b

the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods: The clause they be stripped and beaten is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. Probably men whose job was to give punishment for the magistrates did this. In Latin, these men are called “lictors.” (See note on “officers” at 16:35a.) For example:

the magistrates ordered guards to strip them and beat them ⌊and they did so⌋

magistrates: This is the same word as in 16:20a.

stripped: This word refers to forcefully removing clothes from others. Here it would be the cloak and tunic (something like a shirt without buttons but going below the knees or perhaps to the ankles). It is not clear whether this includes the undergarment at the hips. Some ways to translate it are:

forced their clothes off
-or-
stripped-them -naked

beaten with rods: Here this word probably refers to hitting someone with a rod, heavy stick, or cane. This was a common Roman punishment for non-Romans as a warning to stop doing something. The point was to make the blows hurt very much. For example:

beat them with sticks (God’s Word)

The Roman custom was to beat the person until the judge decided he was beaten enough. The guard doing the beating would look to the judge to see if he signaled to end the punishment. If the judge did not signal to end, the guard continued beating. The Greek tense probably indicates that the judge did not end the beating until the guard had checked several times. If possible indicate this. For example:

beaten. ⌊The judges signaled to continue the beating several times.⌋

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