Acts 16

1Paul came to Derbe and then on to Lystra. A disciple called Timothy was living there. His mother was a Jewish woman who believed, but his father was a Greek. 2The brothers and sisters in Lystra and Iconium thought highly of him. 3Paul wanted to have Timothy with him when he set out. With the Jews of that area in mind, he took him and circumcised him, since all of them knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they made their way from town to town, they passed on to the believers the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, for them to observe. 5So the churches grew firmer in the faith, and their numbers rose day by day.

6They went on through the Phrygian and Galatian country, because the Holy Spirit had stopped them from speaking the word in Asia. 7Coming as far as Mysia, they made an attempt to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit it. 8So they skirted Mysia and went down to Troas. 9In the night Paul saw a vision. A man of Macedonia stood there and pleaded with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” 10As soon as he had seen the vision, we looked for a way to set out for Macedonia, sure now that God had called us to bring the gospel to its people.

11So we set sail from Troas and ran with a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day reached Neapolis. 12From there we made our way to Philippi, which ranks as a leading city of its district of Macedonia and is a Roman colony. We spent several days in that city. 13On the Sabbath day we went out beyond the gate, beside a river, where we thought there might be a place of prayer. We took a seat and spoke to the women who had come together. 14A woman named Lydia was listening, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed what Paul was saying. 15After she and her household had been baptized, she pressed us to accept her offer: “If you are satisfied that I am faithful to the Lord, come into my home and stay.” And she would not take no for an answer.

16Once, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl came to meet us who had a soothsaying spirit. Her fortune-telling brought in a large income for her masters. 17She trailed after Paul and the rest of us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they are announcing to you a way of salvation!” 18She kept this up for many days. In the end Paul grew weary and vexed. He turned and told the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” It came out that same hour.

19Her masters saw that their hope of gain had gone out of her along with the spirit. So they laid hold of Paul and Silas and hauled them off to the rulers in the marketplace. 20Bringing them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are upsetting our whole city. They are Jews, 21and they preach customs that we cannot lawfully take up or follow, since we are Romans.” 22The crowd too rose up against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off them and ordered them beaten with rods. 23When they had struck them many blows, they threw them into prison and told the jailer to keep them safely locked up. 24Given such a charge, the jailer threw them into the inner part of the prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

25At midnight, as Paul and Silas prayed, they sang praises to God, and the prisoners listened. 26All at once a great earthquake struck, so strong that the prison was shaken to its foundations. In that instant all the doors came open, and the chains of every prisoner fell loose. 27Startled out of sleep, the jailer saw that the prison doors stood open. Believing that the prisoners had got away, he drew his sword, ready to take his own life. 28But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, “Do not hurt yourself! Every one of us is still here!” 29He called for lights and ran inside, and shaking with fear he fell at the feet of Paul and Silas. 30He led them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with everyone in his household. 33Even at that hour of the night he took them and bathed their wounds, and straightaway he was baptized together with all his family. 34Leading them up into his house, he spread a table for them, and the whole household rejoiced with him, now that he had believed in God.

35In the morning the magistrates sent their lictors with the order, “Let those men go.” 36The jailer passed the message on to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for your release. So come out now, and go in peace.” 37But Paul told them, “We are Roman citizens, and they beat us in front of everyone without condemning us in any court, and threw us into prison. Are they now going to send us away in secret? Certainly not! Let them come in person and lead us out.” 38The lictors carried these words back to the magistrates, who were frightened to hear that the men were Roman citizens. 39They came and pleaded with them, and after leading them out, they kept asking them to leave the city. 40So they came out of the prison and went to Lydia. They saw the brothers and sisters and encouraged them, and then they set out.