John Gill Commentary Acts 16:20

"and when they had brought them unto the magistrates, they said, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city," — Acts 16:20 (ASV)

And brought them to the magistrates
The same as before; therefore the Syriac version omits them there, and reads them both together here, calling them the magistrates and chief men of the city.

Though the word here used properly signifies military captains, captains of the Roman militia. That they were the same with the Decuriones, or ten men before mentioned, appears from what Harpocratian says ^F11, that every year were chosen "ten (strathgoi), magistrates", the word here used.

saying, these men being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city ;
They call Paul and Silas Jews, either because they knew them to be so, or because they attended at the Jewish oratory, or place of worship; and it was common with the Romans to call the Christians Jews; they were generally included in the same name; and this name of the Jews had become very odious with the Romans; a little after this, Claudius commanded them, the Jews, to depart from Rome, (Acts 18:2).

They were commonly looked upon as a troublesome and seditious sort of people, and indeed this was the old charge that was fastened upon them, (Ezra 4:15) (Esther 3:8). So that it was enough to say that Paul and Silas were Jews, to prove them to be disturbers of the public peace.

It is to be observed that their accusers make no mention of the dispossessing of the maid, who was their private property and a private affair. Instead, they pretend a concern for the public welfare and bring a charge of public disturbance and detriment, to which their malice and revenge prompted them, hoping in this way the better to succeed.

The Arabic version reads, "these two men trouble our city, and they are both Jews".

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FOOTNOTES:

• F11: Lexicon, p. 274.