ACT 16
16
1 Paul also travelled to Derbe and then to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there—his mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was Greek.
2 The believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he circumcised him because of the Jews in those areas, since everyone knew his father was Greek.
4 As they journeyed through the cities, they delivered the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the believers to observe.
5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and increasing in number daily.
The Macedonian Call
6 They travelled through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia.
7 When they approached Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.
8 So they bypassed Mysia and went down to Troas.
9 During the night, Paul had a vision: a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, "Cross over to Macedonia and help us."
10 After Paul had seen the vision, we immediately sought to depart for Macedonia, concluding that God had summoned us to proclaim the good news to them.
The Conversion of Lydia
11 Setting sail from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis.
12 From there we went to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in that city for several days.
13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the riverside, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.
14 A woman named Lydia was listening—she was from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple fabric, and a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.
15 After she and her household were baptised, she extended this invitation: "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." She persuaded us to accept.
The Imprisonment of Paul and Silas
16 As we were going to the place of prayer one day, we encountered a slave girl who had a spirit of divination. She brought her owners substantial profit through fortune-telling.
17 She began following 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."
18 She continued doing this for many days. Finally, Paul became so irritated that he turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" It came out at that very moment.
19 When her owners realised that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.
20 Bringing them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews and are creating chaos in our city
21 by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
22 The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the magistrates ordered them stripped and beaten with rods.
23 After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely.
24 Having received such orders, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The Conversion of the Jailer and His Entire Household
25 Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened to them.
26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the prison's foundations were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose.
27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul shouted loudly, "Do not harm yourself! We are all here!"
29 The jailer called for lights and rushed in. Trembling, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 He brought them outside and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
32 They spoke the Lord's message to him and to everyone in his household.
33 At that hour of the night, he took them and washed their wounds. Then he and all his family were immediately baptised.
34 He brought them up into his house and set food before them. He rejoiced greatly, having come to believe in God along with his entire household.
35 When daylight came, the magistrates sent officers with the message: "Release those men."
36 The jailer reported this to Paul: "The magistrates have sent orders for your release. You may now leave and go in peace."
37 But Paul said to the officers, "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and they threw us into prison. Now they want to release us secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come personally and escort us out."
38 The officers reported these words to the magistrates. When they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they became alarmed.
39 They came and appealed to them, then escorted them out and requested that they leave the city.
40 After leaving the prison, Paul and Silas went to Lydia's house. When they had seen the believers and encouraged them, they departed.
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ACT 16: AFINT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
