FLOGVIT
.bible

ActsChapter 16

+ Secondary textOriginal text← PreviousNext →Contribute
Paul came also to Derbe and then to Lystra. And there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him,
and Paul wanted to take him along on the journey. So he circumcised him because of the Jews in that region, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from town to town, they handed on to them the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, telling them to observe these.
So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew in numbers day by day.
They traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia.
When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them.
So they passed by Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision: a man of Macedonia was standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"
When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the gospel to them.
So we put out to sea from Troas and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis,
and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. There we stayed for several days.
On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke 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 worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.
When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she prevailed on us.
Once, as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and who earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.[fn]
She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!"
She kept this up for many days. At last Paul became so annoyed that he turned and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" And it came out that very moment.
When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.
They brought them to the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and they are throwing our city into an uproar.
They are promoting customs that it is not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice."
The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was ordered to guard them securely.
On receiving these 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 doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose.
The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
He brought them outside and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
They said, "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.
He brought them up into his house and set a meal before them, and he rejoiced with his whole household that he had come to believe in God.
When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: "Release those men."
The jailer reported this to Paul: "The magistrates have sent word to release you. So you may leave. Go in peace."
But Paul said to them, "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? Certainly not! 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.
So they came and apologized to them, and they escorted them out and begged them to leave the city.
After leaving the prison, Paul and Silas went to Lydia's house, where they saw the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they departed.
←→