Acts 16
1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father [was] a Greek:
Paul [and Silas] to Derbe [city and visited the believers there]. Next [they went to] Lystra [city]. A believer whose name was Timothy lived there. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek.
2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
The believers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy,
3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
and Paul wanted to take Timothy with him [when he went] to other places, so he circumcised Timothy. [He did that so that] the Jews who lived in those places [would accept Timothy], because they knew that his non-Jewish father [had not allowed him to be circumcised] {[anyone to circumcise his son]}.
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
[So Timothy went with Paul and Silas] and they traveled to many other towns. [In each town] they told [the] believers the rules that had been decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem {that the apostles and elders in Jerusalem had decided} that [non-Jewish] believers should obey.
5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.
[God was helping] the believers in those towns to trust more strongly [in the Lord Jesus], and every day more people became believers.
6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
Paul and his companions wanted/planned to enter Asia [province] preach the message [about Jesus] there, but they were prevented by the Holy Spirit {the Holy Spirit prevented them} [from going there. So] they traveled through Phrygia and Galatia [provinces].
7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
They arrived at the border of Mysia [province] and they wanted to go [north] Bithynia [province]. But [again] the Spirit of Jesus showed them that they should not [go there].
8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
So they went through Mysia [province] and arrived at Troas, a [port city. I, Luke, joined them there].
9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
That night [God gave] Paul a vision in which he saw a man [who was a native] of Macedonia [province]. He was standing [some distance away], and he was earnestly calling to Paul, “[Please] come over [here] to Macedonia and help us!”
10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
[The next morning] we [(exc)] immediately got ready to go to Macedonia, because we believed that God had called us to [go and] preach the good message to the people there.
11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next [day] to Neapolis;
So we [(exc)] got on a ship in Troas and sailed across [the sea] Samothrace [Island. We spent the night there], and the next day [we sailed again across the sea and arrived] at Neapolis [port/town].
12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, [and] a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.
Then we [left Neapolis and] went [by land] to Philippi. It was a very important city in Macedonia [province, where many] Roman citizens lived. We stayed in Philippi several days.
13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted [thither.]
On the first (Sabbath/Jewish day of rest) [after we(exc) arrived], we went outside the city gate [down] to the river. We had heard [someone say] that [Jewish] people gathered to pray there. [When we arrived there, we saw] some women who had gathered [to pray]. So we sat down and began to tell them [the message about Jesus].
14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
A woman whose name was Lydia was one of those who were listening [to Paul. She was a non-Jewish woman], from Thyatira [city, who bought and] sold [expensive] purple cloth. She had accepted what the Jews believe about God. The Lord [God] caused her to pay attention to the message that Paul preached, and she believed it. [The members of her household also heard the good message and believed in Jesus] [MTY].
15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought [us], saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide [there]. And she constrained us.
After [Paul and Silas] baptized Lydia and the others who lived in her house [MTY] {After Lydia and the others who lived in her house were baptized}, she invited us to [go and stay in] her home. She said, “You [(pl)] know that I [now] believe in the Lord [Jesus], so [please] come and stay in my house.” She persuaded us [to do that, so we(exc) stayed there].
16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
Another day, while we [(exc)] were going to the place where people regularly gathered to pray, we met a young woman who was a slave. An evil spirit was enabling her to be a ventriloquist and to tell people what would happen [to them]. People paid a lot of money to [the men who were] her owners, in return for her telling them things that [she said] would happen [to them].
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
This young woman followed Paul and the rest of us. She continually shouted, “These men serve the God who is the greatest [of all gods]! They are telling you how ([God] can save you [so that he will not punish you/to be] saved)”
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
She continued to do that for many days. Finally Paul became irritated. So he turned [toward the young woman] and rebuked the evil spirit [that was in her. He said], “By the authority [MTY] of Jesus Christ, I command you [(sg)] to come out of this young woman!” Right away the evil spirit left her.
19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew [them] into the marketplace unto the rulers,
And then her owners realized that she could no longer earn money for them [because she could no longer predict what would happen to people, so they were angry]. They grabbed Paul and Silas and forcefully took them to the public square, to [the place where] the government authorities and [a lot of other people were gathered].
20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
The owners [of the young woman] brought Paul and Silas to the city officials and told them, “These men are Jews, and they are greatly troubling [the people in] [MTY] our city.
21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
They are teaching that we [(inc)] should follow customs that our laws do not allow us Romans to consider [to be correct] or to obey!”
22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat [them].
Many of the crowd joined [those who were accusing] Paul and Silas, and started beating them. Then the [Roman] authorities commanded [soldiers] to tear the shirts off Paul and Silas and to beat them [with rods/sticks].
23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
[So the soldiers] beat Paul and Silas vigorously [with rods]. After that, they [took them and] shoved them into the prison. They told the jailer that he should lock them up securely.
24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
[Because the officials] had [commanded] him [to do that], the jailer shoved Paul and Silas into the cell that was farthest inside. [There, he made them sit down on the floor/ground and stretch out their legs]. Then he fastened their ankles in [grooves] between two large wooden beams, [so that Paul and Silas could not move their legs].
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying [aloud] and praising God by singing hymns. The [other] prisoners were listening attentively to them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
Suddenly there was a very strong earthquake. It shook the entire jail [SYN] and its foundation [SYN]. [The earthquake caused] all the doors [of the jail] to open suddenly, and [caused] all the chains that fastened the prisoners to fall off.
27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
The jailer woke up and saw that the doors of the jail were open. He thought that the prisoners had escaped. So he pulled out his sword in order to kill himself, [because he knew that the officials would kill him if the prisoners escaped].
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Paul [saw the jailer and] shouted to him, “Do not harm yourself! We [(exc) prisoners] are all here!”
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
The jailer shouted [to someone] to bring torches/lanterns, [and after they brought them], he rushed into the jail and knelt down in front of Paul and Silas. [He was very afraid, so] much so that he was trembling/shaking.
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Then he brought Paul and Silas out [of the jail] and asked: “Sirs, what do I need to do to be saved [from being punished for my sins]?”
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
[They answered], “Trust in [what] the Lord Jesus [has done for you], and you will be saved {[God] will save you}, and the others who live in [MTY] your house will [also] be saved [if they believe in Jesus].”
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
Then the jailer took Paul and Silas into his house, washed their wounds, and gave them a meal. [He woke up all the people in his house, and] Paul and Silas told all of them the message about the Lord [Jesus. They all believed in him]. Immediately [after that, the jailer and all his family were baptized] {[Paul and Silas] baptized the jailer and all his family}. They were very happy, because now they all believed in God.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed [their] stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.
The next morning, the [Roman] officials commanded [some] police officers [to go to the jail to say to the jailer], “[Our bosses] say, ‘Let those [two] prisoners go [now]!’”
36 And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.
[After the officers went and told that to] the jailer, he [went and] told Paul, “The [Roman] authorities have sent a message [(sg)] saying that I should release you [(sg)] and Silas [from prison]. So you [two] can leave [the jail] now. Now you can go peacefully!”
37 But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast [us] into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.
But Paul said to the police officers, “The authorities [commanded men to] beat us in front of a crowd before [those authorities] had learned if we [(exc)] had done anything wrong! Then they [ordered men to] shove us into jail! [But that was not legal, because] we [(exc)] are Roman citizens! And now they want [RHQ] to send us away secretly! We will not accept that! Those [Roman] officials must come themselves and [tell us that they are sorry], and take us out [of jail].”
38 And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
So the police officers [went and] told the city authorities [what Paul had said]. When those authorities heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid [that someone would report to more important officials what they had done, and as a result they would be punished] {[those officials would punish them]}.
39 And they came and besought them, and brought [them] out, and desired [them] to depart out of the city.
So the city authorities came to Paul and Silas and told them that they were sorry for what they had done to them. The authorities brought them out of the jail, and repeatedly asked them to leave the city [soon].
40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into [the house of] Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
After Paul and Silas left the jail, they went to Lydia’s house. There they met with her and the [other] believers. They encouraged the believers [to continue trusting in the Lord Jesus], and then the two apostles left [Philippi].
