Acts 16:27 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with the predicate adjective exypnos {ἔξυπνος | éxypnos} ‘awake’ in the front position for vividness, linked by the conjunction de {δὲ | dè} to form a temporal clause. The aorist middle participle genomenos {γενόμενος | genómenos} ‘having become’ attaches to ho desmophylax {ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ | ho desmophýlax} ‘the jailer,’ yielding “when the jailer became awake.” The participle idon {ἰδὼν | idṑn} ‘having seen’ follows, taking the perfect passive participle aneōgmenos {ἀνεῳγμένας | aneōgménas} ‘having been opened’ and its object tas thyras tēs phylakēs {τὰς θύρας τῆς φυλακῆς | tàs thýras tês phylakês} ‘the prison doors.’ A second middle participle, spasamenos {σπασάμενος | spasámenos} ‘having drawn,’ leads into the finite imperfect verb ḗmellen {ἤμελλεν | ḗmellen} ‘was about’ with the infinitive anairein {ἀναιρεῖν | anaireîn} ‘to kill,’ supplying the reflexive pronoun heauton {ἑαυτὸν | heautòn} as its object. The present participle nomizōn {νομίζων | nomízōn} ‘supposing’ introduces a causal clause with the perfect infinitive ekpepheugénai {ἐκπεφευγέναι | ekpepheugénai} ‘to have escaped,’ the object of which is tous desmious {τοὺς δεσμίους | toùs desmíos} ‘the prisoners.’ This string of participles accelerates the narrative: awakening, perceiving, reacting, intending, and reasoning. English renders most participles as finite verbs or subordinate clauses for clarity, while preserving the immediacy of ḗmellen anairein. The bracketed glosses highlight the jailer’s custodial role, the prisoners’ bound status, the sudden alertness of the awakening, and the nature of the weapon he draws.