Acts of the Apostles 16

Timothy joins the journey

1He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father. 2The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him, 3and Paul wanted him along on the journey. So he took him and circumcised him, because of the Jews in those parts; they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they went from town to town they handed on the decisions taken by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, for the people to observe. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew in number day by day.

The call to Macedonia

6They traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, since the Holy Spirit had kept them from speaking the message in Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them, 8so they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9In the night Paul had a vision: a man of Macedonia was standing there, pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us.” 10As soon as he had seen the vision we set about leaving for Macedonia, certain that God had called us to announce the good news to them. 11So we put out from Troas and ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis, 12and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of that district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for some days. 13On the Sabbath we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to attend to what Paul was saying. 15When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she would not take no for an answer.

The slave girl and the fury of her owners

16Once, as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and made a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17She kept following Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they are announcing to you the way of salvation.” 18She did this for many days, until Paul, worn out by it, turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. 19When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and they are throwing our city into turmoil. 21They are promoting customs that we, as Romans, are not allowed to accept or practice.” 22The crowd joined in the attack, and the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them beaten with rods. 23After laying many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to keep them under close guard. 24Given such orders, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The earthquake and the jailer

25Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening, 26when suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison shook. All the doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up, saw the prison doors standing open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, “Do yourself no harm! We are all here.” 29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household.” 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. 33At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds, and he and all his family were baptized at once. 34Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them, and he and his whole household were overjoyed at having come to believe in God. 35When day came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order, “Release those men.” 36The jailer reported this to Paul: “The magistrates have sent word that you are to be released. So come out now and go in peace.” 37But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public, without a trial, though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison — and now they want to get rid of us quietly? Certainly not. Let them come themselves and escort us out.” 38The officers reported this to the magistrates, who were alarmed when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39So they came and apologized to them, escorted them out and asked them to leave the city. 40On leaving the prison the two went to Lydia’s house, where they saw the brothers and sisters and encouraged them; then they set off.