Acts 16
16
1 Then he arrived at Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a faithful Jewish woman, his father a Gentile.
2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium rendered good testimony to him.
3 Paul wanted this man to travel with him, and taking him, he circumcised him, because of the Jews who were in those places. For they all knew that his father was a Gentile.
4 And as they were traveling through the cities, they delivered to them the dogmas to be kept, which were decreed by the Apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.
5 And certainly, the Churches were being strengthened in faith and were increasing in number every day.
6 Then, while crossing through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the Word in Asia.
7 But when they had arrived in Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.
8 Then, when they had crossed through Mysia, they descended to Troas.
9 And a vision in the night was revealed to Paul of a certain man of Macedonia, standing and pleading with him, and saying: "Cross into Macedonia and help us!"
10 Then, after he saw the vision, immediately we sought to set out for Macedonia, having been assured that God had called us to evangelize to them.
11 And sailing from Troas, taking a direct path, we arrived at Samothrace, and on the following day, at Neapolis,
12 and from there to Philippi, which is the preeminent city in the area of Macedonia, a colony. Now we were in this city some days, conferring together.
13 Then, on the Sabbath day, we were walking outside the gate, beside a river, where there seemed to be a prayer gathering. And sitting down, we were speaking with the women who had assembled.
14 And a certain woman, named Lydia, a seller of purple in the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened. And the Lord opened her heart to be receptive to what Paul was saying.
15 And when she had been baptized, with her household, she pleaded with us, saying: "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, enter into my house and lodge there." And she convinced us.
16 Then it happened that, as we were going out to prayer, a certain girl, having a spirit of divination, met with us. She was a source of great profit to her masters, through her divining.
17 This girl, following Paul and us, was crying out, saying: "These men are servants of the Most High God! They are announcing to you the way of salvation!"
18 Now she behaved in this way for many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ, to go out from her." And it went away in that same hour.
19 But her masters, seeing that the hope of their profit went away, apprehended Paul and Silas, and they brought them to the rulers at the courthouse.
20 And presenting them to the magistrates, they said: "These men are disturbing our city, since they are Jews.
21 And they are announcing a way which is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, since we are Romans."
22 And the people rushed together against them. And the magistrates, tearing their tunics, ordered them to be beaten with staffs.
23 And when they had inflicted many scourges on them, they cast them into prison, instructing the guard to watch them diligently.
24 And since he had received this kind of order, he cast them into the interior prison cell, and he restricted their feet with stocks.
25 Then, in the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God. And those who were also in custody were listening to them.
26 Yet truly, there was a sudden earthquake, so great that the foundations of the prison were moved. And immediately all the doors were opened, and the bindings of everyone were released.
27 Then the prison guard, having been jarred awake, and seeing the doors of the prison open, drew his sword and intended to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled.
28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying: "Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here!"
29 Then calling for a light, he entered. And trembling, he fell before the feet of Paul and Silas.
30 And bringing them outside, he said, "Sirs, what must I do, so that I may be saved?"
31 So they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and then you will be saved, with your household."
32 And they spoke the Word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house.
33 And he, taking them in the same hour of the night, washed their scourges. And he was baptized, and next his entire household.
34 And when he had brought them into his own house, he set a table for them. And he was joyous, with his entire household, believing in God.
35 And when daylight had arrived, the magistrates sent the attendants, saying, "Release those men."
36 But the prison guard reported these words to Paul: "The magistrates have sent to have you released. Now therefore, depart. Go in peace."
37 But Paul said to them: "They have beaten us publicly, though we were not condemned. They have cast men who are Romans into prison. And now they would drive us away secretly? Not so. Instead, let them come forward,
38 and let us drive them away." Then the attendants reported these words to the magistrates. And upon hearing that they were Romans, they were afraid.
39 And arriving, they pleaded with them, and leading them out, they begged them to depart from the city.
40 And they went away from the prison and entered into the house of Lydia. And having seen the brothers, they consoled them, and then they set out.
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Acts 16
16
A Dream Gave Paul His Map
1-3Paul came first to Derbe, then Lystra. He found a disciple there by the name of Timothy, son of a devout Jewish mother and Greek father. Friends in Lystra and Iconium all said what a fine young man he was. Paul wanted to recruit him for their mission, but first took him aside and circumcised him so he wouldn’t offend the Jews who lived in those parts. They all knew that his father was Greek.
4-5As they traveled from town to town, they presented the simple guidelines the Jerusalem apostles and leaders had come up with. That turned out to be most helpful. Day after day the congregations became stronger in faith and larger in size.
6-8They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.
9-10That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.
11-12Putting out from the harbor at Troas, we made a straight run for Samothrace. The next day we tied up at New City and walked from there to Philippi, the main city in that part of Macedonia and, even more importantly, a Roman colony. We lingered there several days.
13-14On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting. We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them. One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman. As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the Master gave her a trusting heart—and she believed!
15After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.” We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Beaten Up and Thrown in Jail
16-18One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out, “These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out the road of salvation for you!” She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, “Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!” And it was gone, just like that.
19-22a When her owners saw that their lucrative little business was suddenly bankrupt, they went after Paul and Silas, roughed them up and dragged them into the market square. Then the police arrested them and pulled them into a court with the accusation, “These men are disturbing the peace—dangerous Jewish agitators subverting our Roman law and order.” By this time the crowd had turned into a restless mob out for blood.
22b-24 The judges went along with the mob, had Paul and Silas’s clothes ripped off and ordered a public beating. After beating them black-and-blue, they threw them into jail, telling the jailkeeper to put them under heavy guard so there would be no chance of escape. He did just that—threw them into the maximum security cell in the jail and clamped leg irons on them.
25-26Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.
27-28Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: “Don’t do that! We’re all still here! Nobody’s run away!”
29-31The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?” They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!”
32-34They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then—he couldn’t wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.
35-36At daybreak, the court judges sent officers with the instructions, “Release these men.” The jailer gave Paul the message, “The judges sent word that you’re free to go on your way. Congratulations! Go in peace!”
37But Paul wouldn’t budge. He told the officers, “They beat us up in public and threw us in jail, Roman citizens in good standing! And now they want to get us out of the way on the sly without anyone knowing? Nothing doing! If they want us out of here, let them come themselves and lead us out in broad daylight.”
38-40When the officers reported this, the judges panicked. They had no idea that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They hurried over and apologized, personally escorted them from the jail, and then asked them if they wouldn’t please leave the city. Walking out of the jail, Paul and Silas went straight to Lydia’s house, saw their friends again, encouraged them in the faith, and only then went on their way.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.