Reported these words may be rendered as “the police officers told the Roman officials what Paul and Silas had told them.” It is also important to make perfectly clear that the final they of verse 38 refers to the Roman officials and not simply to the police officers. These Roman officials were justifiably afraid, since severe penalties were often placed upon persons who violated the rights of Roman citizens.

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 .