<p>16:23 <i>And when they had laid many stripes upon them- </i>This doesn't mean that they personally flogged them. They 'laid' in the sense of laying a penalty upon them. The actual flogging was likely done by the jailor; hence his desire to wash their damaged bodies after his conversion, and his deep sense of fear before them afterwards. When we read that the jailor &quot;having received this order&quot; (:24) put them into the inner prison, the &quot;order&quot; was the sentence of flogging which he was ordered to inflict, and he may well have carried it out in the inner prison.</p><p><i>They threw them into prison- </i>Exactly what Paul had done to Christians, after flogging them (26:10).</p><p><i>Ordering the jailor to guard them carefully</i>- Especially securely. There seemed to be a fear that Paul would seek to escape; hence having received such a charge, the jailor put them in the inner prison, the most secure zone, probably underground with no access to the outside. Or it could be that the magistrates wanted these men to die in custody, and 'guard them extra carefully' could have been a nod to abuse them. See on :24 <em>Shackles</em>.</p>