Acts 16
16
1 And he also arrived in Derbe and in Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, Timothy by name, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but of a Greek father, 2 who was held in high esteem by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this one to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 And while they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees that had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, to keep. 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith,* and they were increasing in number every day.
The Macedonian Call
6 And they went through Phrygia and the Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia. 7 And when they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and imploring him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go away to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
The Conversion of Lydia
11 So, sailing from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a foremost city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. And we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on the day of the Sabbath,* we went outside the city beside the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer. And having sat down, we began to speak to the women who had come together. 14 And a certain woman, Lydia by name, from the city of Thyatira, a female trader in purple cloth who adored God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was being spoken by Paul. 15 And after she was baptised, and her household, she compelled us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
The Imprisonment of Paul and Silas
16 And it occurred that, as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female servant who had a spirit of divination* met us, who was bringing much gain to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 Having followed Paul and us, she began to cry out, saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she continued doing for many days. But Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned around and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that same hour.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are disturbing our city, 21 and are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to accept or to practise.” 22 And the crowd rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their garments and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to guard them securely. 24 When he had received such an order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The Conversion of the Jailer and His Entire Household
25 Now at approximately midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening attentively to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And instantly, all the doors were opened and all the bonds were loosened. 27 And when the jailer was awake and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, saying, “Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And asking for lights, he rushed in; and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus,* and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those in his house. 33 And after taking them at that same hour of the night, he washed their wounds, and he was baptised instantly—he and all his household. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with all his household.
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have issued out a directive that you should be released. So come out now and go in peace.”* 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens; they have thrown us into prison, and do they now throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Instead let them come themselves and bring us out.” 38 So the police officers reported these words to the magistrates, and they were stricken with fear when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologised to them, and having brought them out, they requested them to depart from the city. 40 And after they came out of the prison, they went to Lydia. And when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Notes
5 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the prepositional phrase in the faith
13 Greek Sabbaths
16 Greek spirit of Python
31 Some ancient manuscripts read Lord Jesus Christ
36 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the prepositional phrase in peace
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Acts 16: AFINTLIT
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Acts 16
16
1 And he also arrived in Derbe and in Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, Timothy by name, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but of a Greek father, 2 who was held in high esteem by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this one to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 And while they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees that had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, to keep. 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith,* and they were increasing in number every day.
The Macedonian Call
6 And they went through Phrygia and the Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia. 7 And when they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and imploring him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go away to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
The Conversion of Lydia
11 So, sailing from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a foremost city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. And we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on the day of the Sabbath,* we went outside the city beside the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer. And having sat down, we began to speak to the women who had come together. 14 And a certain woman, Lydia by name, from the city of Thyatira, a female trader in purple cloth who adored God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was being spoken by Paul. 15 And after she was baptised, and her household, she compelled us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
The Imprisonment of Paul and Silas
16 And it occurred that, as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female servant who had a spirit of divination* met us, who was bringing much gain to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 Having followed Paul and us, she began to cry out, saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she continued doing for many days. But Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned around and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that same hour.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are disturbing our city, 21 and are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to accept or to practise.” 22 And the crowd rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their garments and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to guard them securely. 24 When he had received such an order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The Conversion of the Jailer and His Entire Household
25 Now at approximately midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening attentively to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And instantly, all the doors were opened and all the bonds were loosened. 27 And when the jailer was awake and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, saying, “Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And asking for lights, he rushed in; and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus,* and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those in his house. 33 And after taking them at that same hour of the night, he washed their wounds, and he was baptised instantly—he and all his household. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with all his household.
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have issued out a directive that you should be released. So come out now and go in peace.”* 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens; they have thrown us into prison, and do they now throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Instead let them come themselves and bring us out.” 38 So the police officers reported these words to the magistrates, and they were stricken with fear when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologised to them, and having brought them out, they requested them to depart from the city. 40 And after they came out of the prison, they went to Lydia. And when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Notes
5 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the prepositional phrase in the faith
13 Greek Sabbaths
16 Greek spirit of Python
31 Some ancient manuscripts read Lord Jesus Christ
36 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the prepositional phrase in peace
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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).