It is not necessary to assume, as some commentators have done, that the inner cell was an underground cell. The inner cell was simply “the farthest cell in prison.” This may be translated in some instances as “the most guarded cell of the prison,” since one would need to pass through several other cells in order to arrive at this inner cell.

Between heavy blocks of wood is rendered by most translators as “stocks.” The term “stocks” was avoided by the Good News Translation for two reasons: (1) it was felt that its meaning would not be readily understood by the readers for whom the Good News Translation was designed and (2) the stocks utilized by the Romans were of a different sort from those otherwise known. The Romans used this as an instrument of torture. It had more than one pair of holes for the legs, so that a prisoner’s legs could be spread wide apart, causing him great pain.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .