The Roman officials (most translations “magistrates”) were the chief magistrates of a Roman colony, and they were two in number. The text does not make it clear whether these were the same authorities referred to in the previous verse, though it is quite likely that they were. It is to be noticed that Paul and Silas were brought before the Roman officials on the charge that they were Jews, not that they were Christians.

The expression causing trouble should be understood in the most general sense. In some languages it would be “causing trouble for the people in our city.” In terms of this particular context, however, it is sometimes rendered as “causing a disturbance.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .