| 25. Linguistic Exegesis kata to mesonyktion {Κατὰ τὸ μεσονύκτιον | katà tò mesonýktion} ‘at midnight’ opens the verse with a temporal accusative. The connective de {δὲ | dè} ‘but’ signals the narrative progression. The participle proseuchomenoi {προσευχόμενοι | proseuchómenoi} ‘praying’ and the imperfect hýmnoun {ὕμνουν | hýmnoun} ‘they were singing hymns’ form a circumstantial participle–main verb sequence that emphasizes ongoing worship. The accusative object tón theón {τὸν θεόν | tón theón} ‘God’ marks the recipient of prayer and praise. The clause beginning with the imperfect epēkroônto {ἐπηκροῶντο | epēkroônto} ‘they were listening attentively’ uses the genitive autôn {αὐτῶν | autôn} ‘of them’ to indicate whose actions are heard and hoi désmioi {οἱ δέσμιοι | hoi désmioi} ‘the prisoners’ as the subject receiving the auditory action. |