Acts 16
1 And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and there was a certain disciple there named Timothy, whose mother was one of the Jews of the faith, but his father was a Greek;
Among other places Paul went to Derbe and Lystra. At the latter place they found a disciple, named Timothy, whose mother was a Jewish woman who was a believer, while his father was a Greek,
2 Of whom the brothers at Lystra and Iconium had a high opinion.
and who was well spoken of by the followers of the Lord in Lystra and Iconium.
3 Paul had a desire for him to go with him, and he gave him circumcision because of the Jews who were in those parts: for they all had knowledge that his father was a Greek.
Wishing to take this man with him on his journey, Paul caused him to be circumcised out of consideration for the Jews in that region, for they all knew that his father had been a Greek.
4 And on their way through the towns, they gave them the rules which had been made by the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem, so that they might keep them.
As they traveled from town to town, they gave the followers the decisions which had been reached by the apostles and church elders at Jerusalem, for them to observe.
5 So the churches were made strong in the faith and were increased in number every day.
So the churches grew stronger in the faith, and increased in numbers from day to day.
6 And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia;
They next went through the Phrygian district of Galatia, but were restrained by the Holy Spirit from delivering the message in Roman Asia.
7 And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them;
When they reached the borders of Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them.
8 And going past Mysia, they came down to Troas.
Passing through Mysia, they went down to Troas;
9 And Paul had a vision in the night; a man of Macedonia came, requesting him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and give us help.
and there one night Paul saw a vision. A Macedonian was standing and appealing to him – ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’
10 And when he had seen the vision, straight away we made the decision to go into Macedonia, for it seemed certain to us that God had sent us to give the good news to them.
So, immediately after Paul had seen the vision, we looked for an opportunity to cross over to Macedonia, concluding that God had summoned us to tell the good news to the people there.
11 So, from Troas we went straight by ship to Samothrace and the day after to Neapolis;
Accordingly we set sail from Troas, and ran before the wind to Samothrace, reaching Neapolis the next day.
12 And from there to Philippi, which is the most important town of Macedonia and a Roman colony: and we were there for some days.
From there we made our way to Philippi, which is the principal city of that part of Macedonia, and also a Roman Settlement. In that city we spent several days.
13 And on the Sabbath we went outside the town, by the river, where we had an idea that there would be a place of prayer; and, being seated, we had talk with the women who had come together.
On the Sabbath we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and talked to the women who were gathered there.
14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a trader in purple cloth of the town of Thyatira, and a God-fearing woman, gave ear to us: whose heart the Lord made open to give attention to the things which Paul was saying.
Among them was a woman, named Lydia, belonging to Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth, who was accustomed to join in the worship of God. The Lord touched this woman’s heart, so that she gave attention to the message delivered by Paul,
15 And when she and her family had had baptism, she made a request to us, saying, If it seems to you that I am true to the Lord, come into my house and be my guests. And she made us come.
and, when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us to become her guests. “Since you have shown your conviction,” she said, “that I really am a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she insisted on our doing so.
16 And when we were going to the place of prayer, we came across a girl with a spirit which gave knowledge of the future, whose masters made great profit from her power.
One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a girl possessed by a divining spirit, who made large profits for her masters by fortune-telling.
17 She came after Paul and us, crying out and saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are giving you news of the way of salvation.
This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, calling, “These men are servants of the most high God, and they are bringing you news of a way to salvation.”
18 And this she did on a number of days. But Paul was greatly troubled and, turning, said to the spirit, I give you orders in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And it came out that very hour.
She had been doing this for several days, when Paul, much vexed, turned and said to the spirit within her, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to leave her.” That very moment the spirit left her.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they took Paul and Silas, pulling them into the market-place before the rulers;
When her masters saw that there was no hope of further profit from her, they seized Paul and Silas, dragged them into the public square to the authorities,
20 And when they had taken them before the authorities, they said, These men, who are Jews, are greatly troubling our town;
and took them before the Magistrates. “These men are causing a great disturbance in our town,” they complained;
21 Teaching rules of living which it is not right for us to have or to keep, being Romans.
“They are Jews, and they are teaching customs which it is not right for us, as Romans, to sanction or adopt.”
22 And the people made an attack on them all together: and the authorities took their clothing off them, and gave orders for them to be whipped.
The mob rose as one person against them, and the Magistrates stripped them of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
23 And when they had given them a great number of blows, they put them in prison, giving orders to the keeper of the prison to keep them safely:
After beating them severely, the Magistrates put them in prison, with orders to the jailer to keep them in safe custody.
24 And he, having such orders, put them into the inner prison with chains on their feet.
On receiving so strict an order, the Governor put them into the inner cell, and secured their feet in the stocks.
25 But about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were making prayers and songs to God in the hearing of the prisoners;
About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and while the prisoners were listening to them,
26 And suddenly there was an earth-shock, so that the base of the prison was moved: and all the doors came open, and everyone's chains came off.
suddenly there was an earthquake of such violence that the jail was shaken to its foundations; all the doors flew open, and all the prisoners’ chains were loosened.
27 And the keeper, coming out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, took his sword and was about to put himself to death, fearing that the prisoners had got away.
Roused from his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, the Governor drew his sword intending to kill himself, in the belief that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul said in a loud voice, Do yourself no damage, for we are all here.
But Paul called our loudly, “Do not harm yourself; we are all here.”
29 And he sent for lights and came rushing in and, shaking with fear, went down on his face before Paul and Silas,
Calling for a light, the Governor rushed in, and flung himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas.
30 And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation?
Then he led them out, and said, “What must I do to be saved?”
31 And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation.
“Believe in Jesus, our Lord,” they replied, “and you will be saved, you and your household too.”
32 And they gave the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
Then they spoke to him of God’s message, and to all his household as well.
33 And that same hour of the night, he took them, and when he had given attention to their wounds, he and all his family had baptism straight away.
And that very hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds, and he himself and everyone belonging to him were baptized without delay.
34 And he took them into his house and gave them food, and he was full of joy, having faith in God with all his family.
Afterward he took them up to his house and set before them something to eat, rejoicing that he, with all his household, had come to believe in God.
35 But when it was day, the authorities sent the police, saying, Let these men go.
In the morning the Magistrates sent the guards with an order for the men to be discharged.
36 And the keeper said to Paul, The authorities have given orders to let you go: come out now, and go in peace.
The jailer told Paul of his instructions. “The Magistrates have sent an order for your discharge,” he said, “so you had better leave the place at once and go quietly away.”
37 But Paul said to them, They have given us who are Romans a public whipping without judging us, and have put us in prison. Will they now send us out secretly? no, truly, let them come themselves and take us out.
But Paul’s answer to them was, “They have flogged us in public without trial, though we are Roman citizens, and they have put us in prison, and now they are for sending us out secretly! No, indeed! Let them come and take us out themselves.”
38 And the police gave an account of these words to the authorities, and they were full of fear on hearing that they were Romans;
The guards reported his words to the Magistrates, who, on hearing that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, were alarmed,
39 Then they came and made prayers to them, requesting them, when they had taken them out, to go away from the town.
and went to the prison, and did their best to conciliate them. Then they took them out, and begged them to leave the city.
40 And they came out of the prison and went to the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brothers they gave them comfort and went away.
When Paul and Silas left the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, and, after they had seen the Lord’s followers, and encouraged them, they left the place.
