Acts 16

And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra, and look, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

He was well spoken of by the brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium.

Paul wanted this man to go with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Now while they were passing through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees they should keep, which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

And they went through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in the province of Asia,

and when they had come opposite Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus did not permit them to go.

Now passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and entreating him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”

And when he saw the vision, immediately we sought to go over to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

So, setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis,

and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that part of Macedonia, a Roman colony, and we were staying in this city some days.

And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by a riverside, to a place habitually used for prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.

And a certain God-fearing woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a seller of purple cloth, kept listening. The Lord opened her heart to be paying attention to the things that were spoken by Paul.

And when she was baptized, and her household, she entreated us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay there.” And she constrained us.

And it came to pass as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain slave girl who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her owners much profit by fortune telling.

Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

And she did this for many days. But Paul, being greatly disturbed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

But when her owners saw that the hope of their profit had gone out, they took hold of Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are seriously disturbing our city,

and are promoting customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or to observe.”

And the crowd rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore their clothes off of them, and gave orders for them to be beaten with rods.

And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely,

who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and he fastened their feet in the stocks.

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

and suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

And the jailor, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, assuming that the prisoners had escaped.

But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

And he asked for lights and sprang in, and, trembling with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas,

and brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house.”

And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds. And immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

And he brought them up into his house, and set a table with food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, because he had believed in God.

But when it was day, the magistrates sent their lictors, saying, “Release those men.”

And the jailor reported the words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to release you. So now come out and go in peace.”

But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison, and are they now sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.”

And the lictors told those words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they asked them repeatedly to leave the city.

And they went out of the prison and went into the house of Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.