Upon awakening he saw all the prison doors open, and his first thought was that the prisoners had escaped. He remembered with what an explicit charge the prisoners had been intrusted to his care the night before, and he felt sure that death would be the penalty of his apparent unfaithfulness. He cried out in the bitterness of his spirit that it was better for him to die by his own hand than to submit to a disgraceful execution. He was about to kill himself, when Paul cried out with a loud voice, “Do thyself no harm; for we are all here.”{LP 77.2}

Da han vågnede så han alle fængselsdøre åbne, og hans første tanke var at fangerne var flygtet. Han huskede tydelig den instruktion at fangerne natten før var blevet betroet i hans varetægt med, og han mærkede tydeligt at døden ville være straffen for hans tydelige upålidelighed. Han råbte i sin ånds bitterhed at det var bedre for ham at dø, ved sin egen hånd, end at underlægges en ubehagelig henrettelse. Han var ved at dræbe sig selv, da Paulus råbte med høj røst: "Gør ikke dig selv noget, vi er her alle."