¹⁹ When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas^(A) and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. ²⁰ Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews ²¹ and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”^{(B) 22} The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.^{(C) 23} After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully. ²⁴ Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.^(D)