Then the captain went with the officers and brought them back, without hurting them (because they were afraid of the people, worried that they might be stoned).

But motioning to them with his hand to be quiet and listen, he described how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brothers and sisters.” Then he left and went to another place.

Therefore be careful, so that the thing spoken of in the [writings of the] Prophets does not come upon you:

Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus so that he would not end up spending time [unnecessarily] in [the province of] Asia (modern Turkey); for he was in a hurry to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would dive overboard and swim [to land] and escape;