Acts 16 — WEBC
16Verse 1He came to Derbe and Lystra; and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed, but his father was a Greek.Verse 2The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him.Verse 3Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.Verse 4As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.Verse 5So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.Verse 6When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.Verse 7When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them.Verse 8Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.Verse 9A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”Verse 10When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.Verse 11Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;Verse 12and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.Verse 13On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.Verse 14A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us. The Lord opened her heart to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.Verse 15When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.Verse 16As we were going to prayer, a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.Verse 17Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!”Verse 18She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” It came out that very hour.Verse 19But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.Verse 20When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are agitating our cityVerse 21and advocate customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”Verse 22The multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates tore their clothes from them, then commanded them to be beaten with rods.Verse 23When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely.Verse 24Having received such a command, he threw them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.Verse 25But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.Verse 26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were loosened.Verse 27The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.Verse 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, “Don’t harm yourself, for we are all here!”Verse 29He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,Verse 30brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”Verse 31They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”Verse 32They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.Verse 33He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household.Verse 34He brought them up into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly with all his household, having believed in God.Verse 35But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, “Let those men go.”Verse 36The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace.”Verse 37But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!”Verse 38The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,Verse 39and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city.Verse 40They went out of the prison and entered into Lydia’s house. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them, then departed.