Acts 16
1 He also came to Derbe and Lystra. There was a disciple there named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.
2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3 Paul wanted him to go with him, so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in those places, for everyone knew that his father was Greek.
4 As they traveled through the cities, they delivered to them the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, for them to observe.
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew in number every day.
6 They traveled through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia.
7 When they came near Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
9 During the night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10 After he had the vision, we immediately set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to announce the good news to them.
11 We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis.
12 From there we went to Philippi, a colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days.
13 On the Sabbath day, we went outside the city gate, beside a river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.
14 A woman named Lydia, a seller of purple cloth from the city of Thyatira who worshiped God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.
15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she insisted that we do so.
16 As we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl who had a spirit of divination met us. By fortune-telling she brought her owners a great deal of profit.
17 She followed Paul and us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they are announcing to you the way of salvation.”
18 She kept doing this for many days. Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out at that very moment.
19 When her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the marketplace before the authorities.
20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men, who are Jews, are disturbing our city.
21 They are proclaiming customs that we, as Romans, are not permitted to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had their clothes torn off and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
23 After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
24 Having received this order, he put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
26 Suddenly there was such a great earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the doors opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.
27 When the jailer woke up and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul shouted loudly, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!”
29 He called for lights, rushed in, and trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32 They spoke the word of God to him and to everyone in his house.
33 At that same hour of the night, he took them and washed their wounds. Then he and all his family were baptized at once.
34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced greatly with his whole household because he had come to believe in God.
35 When morning came, the magistrates sent the officers with this order: “Release those men.”
36 The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have ordered that you be released. So now, come out and go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now they want to release us secretly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported these words to the magistrates, who were afraid when they heard that the men were Roman citizens.
39 So they came and appeased them, and after bringing them out, they asked them to leave the city.
40 After leaving the prison, they went to Lydia’s house. They saw the brothers, encouraged them, and departed.
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