Acts
16
- He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where
a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer,
but whose father was a Greek.
- The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke
well of him.
- Paul wanted to take him along on the journey,
so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they
all knew that his father was a Greek.
- As they traveled from town to town, they
delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for
the people to obey.
- So the churches were strengthened in the
faith and grew daily in numbers.
- Paul and his companions traveled throughout
the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from
preaching the word in the province of Asia.
- When they came to the border of Mysia, they
tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
- So they passed by Mysia and went down to
Troas.
- During the night Paul had a vision of a
man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and
help us."
- After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready
at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach
the gospel to them.
- From Troas we put out to sea and sailed
straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis.
- From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman
colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there
several days.
- On the Sabbath we went outside the city
gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down
and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
- One of those listening was a woman named
Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper
of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
- When she and the members of her household
were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer
in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she
persuaded us.
- Once when we were going to the place of
prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted
the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
- This girl followed Paul and the rest of
us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling
you the way to be saved."
- She kept this up for many days. Finally
Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In
the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment
the spirit left her.
- When the owners of the slave girl realized
that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged
them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
- They brought them before the magistrates
and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar
- by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans
to accept or practice."
- The crowd joined in the attack against Paul
and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.
- After they had been severely flogged, they
were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
- Upon receiving such orders, he put them
in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
- About midnight Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
- Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake
that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors
flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.
- The jailer woke up, and when he saw the
prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because
he thought the prisoners had escaped.
- But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself!
We are all here !"
- The jailer called for lights, rushed in
and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
- He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs,
what must I do to be saved ?"
- They replied, "Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."
- Then they spoke the word of the Lord to
him and to all the others in his house.
- At that hour of the night the jailer took
them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were
baptized
- .The jailer brought them into his house
and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to
believe in God--he and his whole family.
- When it was daylight, the magistrates sent
their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men."
- The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates
have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."
- But Paul said to the officers: "They
beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw
us into
- prison. And now do they want to get rid
of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."
- The officers reported this to the magistrates,
and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.
- They came to appease them and escorted them
from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
- After Paul and Silas came out of the prison,
they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged
them. Then they left.
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