The Acts 16
16
1AND he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, there was a certain disciple there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman that believed; but his father was a Gentile.
2To this man the brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium, gave a good testimony.
3Him Paul would have to go along 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.
4And as they passed through the cities, they delivered unto them the decrees for to keep, that were decreed by the apostles and ancients who were at Jerusalem.
5And the churches were confirmed in faith, and increased in number daily.
6And when they had passed through Phrygia, and the country of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.
7And when they were come into Mysia, they attempted to go into Bythynia, and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not.
8And when they had passed through Mysia, they went down to Troas.
9And a vision was shewed to Paul in the night, which was a man of Macedonia standing and beseeching him, and saying: Pass over into Macedonia, and help us.
10And as soon as he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, being assured that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11And sailing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the day following to Neapolis;
12And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were in this city some days conferring together.
13And upon the sabbath day, we went forth without the gate by a river side, where it seemed that there was prayer; and sitting down, we spoke to the women that were assembled.
14And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, did hear: whose heart the Lord opened to attend to those things which were said by Paul.
15And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying: If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain girl, having a pythonical spirit, met us, who brought to her masters much gain by divining.
17This same following Paul and us, cried out, saying: These men are the servants of the most high God, who preach unto you the way of salvation.
18And this she did many days. But Paul being grieved, turned, and said to the spirit: I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to go out from her. And he went out the same hour.
19But her masters, seeing that the hope of their gain was gone, apprehending Paul and Silas, brought them into the marketplace to the rulers.
20And presenting them to the magistrates, they said: These men disturb our city, being Jews;
21And preach a fashion which it is not lawful for us to receive nor observe, being Romans.
22And the people ran together against them; and the magistrates rending off their clothes, commanded them to be beaten with rods.
23And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the gaoler to keep them diligently.
24Who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25And at midnight, Paul and Silas praying, praised God. And they that were in prison, heard them.
26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and the bands of all were loosed.
27And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the doors of the prison open, drawing his sword, would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying: Do thyself no harm, for we all are here.
29Then calling for a light, he went in, and trembling, fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas.
30And bringing them out, he said: Masters, what must I do, that I may be saved?
31But they said: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32And they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house.
33And he, taking them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes, and himself was baptized, and all his house immediately.
34And when he had brought them into his own house, he laid the table for them, and rejoiced with all his house, believing God.
35And when the day was come, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
36And the keeper of the prison told these words to Paul: The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore depart, and go in peace.
37But Paul said to them: They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that are Romans, and have cast us into prison: and now do they thrust us out privately? Not so; but let them come,
38And let us out themselves. And the serjeants told these words to the magistrates. And they were afraid, hearing that they were Romans.
39And coming, they besought them; and bringing them out, they desired them to depart out of the city.
40And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia; and having seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
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The Acts 16: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Acts 16
16
Timothy Joins Paul in Lystra
1Paul arrived in the city of Derbe and then went to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived. Timothy’s mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was Greek. 2The believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy. 3Paul wanted Timothy to go with him. So he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in those places and because he knew that Timothy’s father was Greek.
4As they went through the cities, they told people about the decisions that the apostles and spiritual leaders #16:4 Or “pastors,” or “elders.” in Jerusalem had made for the people. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew in numbers every day.
Paul Has a Vision
6Paul and Silas went through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the word in the province of Asia. 7They went to the province of Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t allow this. 8So they passed by Mysia and went to the city of Troas.
9During the night Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia. The man urged Paul, “Come to Macedonia to help us.”
10As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we immediately looked for a way to go to Macedonia. We concluded that God had called us to tell the people of Macedonia about the Good News.
Paul and Silas in Philippi
11So we took a ship from Troas and sailed straight to the island of Samothrace. The next day we sailed to the city of Neapolis, 12and from there we went to the city of Philippi. Philippi is a leading city in that part of Macedonia, and it is a Roman colony. We were in this city for a number of days.
13On the day of rest—a holy day, we went out of the city to a place along the river where we thought Jewish people gathered for prayer. We sat down and began talking to the women who had gathered there. 14A woman named Lydia was present. She was a convert to Judaism from the city of Thyatira and sold purple dye for a living. She was listening because the Lord made her willing to pay attention to what Paul said. 15When Lydia and her family were baptized, she invited us to stay at her home. She said, “If you’re convinced that I believe in the Lord, then stay at my home.” She insisted. So we did.
16One day when we were going to the place of prayer, a female servant met us. She was possessed by an evil spirit that told fortunes. She made a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17She used to follow Paul and shout, “These men are servants of the Most High God. They’re telling you how you can be saved.” 18She kept doing this for many days. Paul became annoyed, turned to the evil spirit, and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!”
As Paul said this, the evil spirit left her. 19When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities in the public square. 20In front of the Roman officials, they said, “These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They’re Jews, 21and they’re advocating customs that we can’t accept or practice as Roman citizens.”
22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered ⌞the guards⌟ to beat them with sticks. 23After they had hit Paul and Silas many times, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailer to keep them under tight security. 24So the jailer followed these orders and put Paul and Silas into solitary confinement with their feet in leg irons.
25Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly, a violent earthquake shook the foundations of the jail. All the doors immediately flew open, and all the prisoners’ chains came loose.
27The jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open. Thinking the prisoners had escaped, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28But Paul shouted as loudly as he could, “Don’t hurt yourself! We’re all here!”
29The jailer asked for torches and rushed into the jail. He was trembling as he knelt in front of Paul and Silas. 30Then he took Paul and Silas outside and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved?”
31They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved.” 32They spoke the Lord’s word to the jailer and everyone in his home.
33At that hour of the night, the jailer washed Paul and Silas’ wounds. The jailer and his entire family were baptized immediately. 34He took Paul and Silas upstairs into his home and gave them something to eat. He and his family were thrilled to be believers in God.
35In the morning the Roman officials sent guards who told the jailer, “You can release those men now.”
36The jailer reported this order to Paul by saying, “The officials have sent word to release you. So you can leave peacefully now.”
37But Paul told the guards, “Roman officials have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us in jail, even though we’re Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? There’s no way they’re going to get away with that! Have them escort us out!”
38The guards reported to the officials what Paul had said. When the Roman officials heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid. 39So the officials went to the jail and apologized to Paul and Silas. As the officials escorted Paul and Silas out of the jail, they asked them to leave the city.
40After Paul and Silas left the jail, they went to Lydia’s house. They met with the believers, encouraged them, and then left.
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