< Acts 16 >
1 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.
Κατήντησεν δὲ ⸀καὶεἰςΔέρβην καὶ ⸀εἰς Λύστραν. καὶ ἰδοὺ μαθητής τις ἦν ἐκεῖ ὀνόματι Τιμόθεος, υἱὸς ⸀γυναικὸςἸουδαίας πιστῆς, πατρὸς δὲ Ἕλληνος,
2 The believers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy,
ὃς ἐμαρτυρεῖτο ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Λύστροις καὶ Ἰκονίῳ ἀδελφῶν·
3 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]}.
τοῦτον ἠθέλησεν ὁ Παῦλος σὺν αὐτῷ ἐξελθεῖν, καὶ λαβὼν περιέτεμεν αὐτὸν διὰ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους τοὺς ὄντας ἐν τοῖς τόποις ἐκείνοις, ᾔδεισαν γὰρ ἅπαντες ⸂ὅτι Ἕλλην ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ὑπῆρχεν.
4 [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.
ὡς δὲ διεπορεύοντο τὰς πόλεις, ⸀παρεδίδοσαναὐτοῖς φυλάσσειν τὰ δόγματα τὰ κεκριμένα ὑπὸ τῶν ἀποστόλων ⸀καὶπρεσβυτέρων τῶν ἐν ⸀Ἱεροσολύμοις
5 [God was helping] the believers in those towns to trust more strongly [in the Lord Jesus], and every day more people became believers.
αἱ μὲν οὖν ἐκκλησίαι ἐστερεοῦντο τῇ πίστει καὶ ἐπερίσσευον τῷ ἀριθμῷ καθʼ ἡμέραν.
6 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].
⸀Διῆλθονδὲ τὴν Φρυγίαν ⸀καὶΓαλατικὴν χώραν, κωλυθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος λαλῆσαι τὸν λόγον ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ,
7 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].
ἐλθόντες ⸀δὲκατὰ τὴν Μυσίαν ἐπείραζον ⸀εἰςτὴν Βιθυνίαν ⸀πορευθῆναικαὶ οὐκ εἴασεν αὐτοὺς τὸ πνεῦμα ⸀Ἰησοῦ
8 So they went through Mysia [province] and arrived at Troas, a [port city. I, Luke, joined them there].
παρελθόντες δὲ τὴν Μυσίαν κατέβησαν εἰς Τρῳάδα.
9 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!”
καὶ ὅραμα ⸀διὰνυκτὸς ⸂τῷ Παύλῳ ὤφθη, ἀνὴρ ⸂Μακεδών τις ἦν ἑστὼς ⸀καὶπαρακαλῶν αὐτὸν καὶ λέγων· Διαβὰς εἰς Μακεδονίαν βοήθησον ἡμῖν.
10 [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.
ὡς δὲ τὸ ὅραμα εἶδεν, εὐθέως ἐζητήσαμεν ἐξελθεῖν ⸀εἰςΜακεδονίαν, συμβιβάζοντες ὅτι προσκέκληται ἡμᾶς ὁ ⸀θεὸςεὐαγγελίσασθαι αὐτούς.
11 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].
Ἀναχθέντες ⸀οὖν⸀ἀπὸΤρῳάδος εὐθυδρομήσαμεν εἰς Σαμοθρᾴκην, τῇ ⸀δὲἐπιούσῃ εἰς ⸂Νέαν Πόλιν,
12 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.
⸀κἀκεῖθενεἰς Φιλίππους, ἥτις ἐστὶν ⸂πρώτη τῆς μερίδος Μακεδονίας πόλις, κολωνία. ἦμεν δὲ ἐν ⸀ταύτῃτῇ πόλει διατρίβοντες ἡμέρας τινάς.
13 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].
τῇ τε ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων ἐξήλθομεν ἔξω τῆς ⸀πύληςπαρὰ ποταμὸν οὗ ⸂ἐνομίζομεν προσευχὴν εἶναι, καὶ καθίσαντες ἐλαλοῦμεν ταῖς συνελθούσαις γυναιξίν.
14 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].
καί τις γυνὴ ὀνόματι Λυδία, πορφυρόπωλις πόλεως Θυατείρων σεβομένη τὸν θεόν, ἤκουεν, ἧς ὁ κύριος διήνοιξεν τὴν καρδίαν προσέχειν τοῖς λαλουμένοις ὑπὸ ⸀τοῦΠαύλου.
15 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].
ὡς δὲ ἐβαπτίσθη καὶ ὁ οἶκος αὐτῆς, παρεκάλεσεν λέγουσα· Εἰ κεκρίκατέ με πιστὴν τῷ κυρίῳ εἶναι, εἰσελθόντες εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου ⸀μένετε καὶ παρεβιάσατο ἡμᾶς.
16 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].
Ἐγένετο δὲ πορευομένων ἡμῶν εἰς ⸀τὴνπροσευχὴν παιδίσκην τινὰ ἔχουσαν πνεῦμα ⸀πύθωνα⸀ὑπαντῆσαιἡμῖν, ἥτις ἐργασίαν πολλὴν παρεῖχεν τοῖς κυρίοις αὐτῆς μαντευομένη·
17 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)”
αὕτη ⸀κατακολουθοῦσατῷ Παύλῳ καὶ ἡμῖν ἔκραζεν λέγουσα· Οὗτοι οἱ ἄνθρωποι δοῦλοι τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου εἰσίν, οἵτινες καταγγέλλουσιν ⸀ὑμῖνὁδὸν σωτηρίας.
18 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.
τοῦτο δὲἐποίει ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας. διαπονηθεὶς ⸀δὲ Παῦλος καὶ ἐπιστρέψας τῷ πνεύματι εἶπεν· Παραγγέλλω σοι ⸀ἐνὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐξελθεῖν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς· καὶ ἐξῆλθεν αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ.
19 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].
Ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ κύριοι αὐτῆς ὅτι ἐξῆλθεν ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς ἐργασίας αὐτῶν ἐπιλαβόμενοι τὸν Παῦλον καὶ τὸν Σιλᾶν εἵλκυσαν εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας,
20 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.
καὶ προσαγαγόντες αὐτοὺς τοῖς στρατηγοῖς εἶπαν· Οὗτοι οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐκταράσσουσιν ἡμῶν τὴν πόλιν Ἰουδαῖοι ὑπάρχοντες,
21 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!”
καὶ καταγγέλλουσιν ἔθη ἃ οὐκ ἔξεστιν ἡμῖν παραδέχεσθαι οὐδὲ ποιεῖν Ῥωμαίοις οὖσιν.
22 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].
καὶ συνεπέστη ὁ ὄχλος κατʼ αὐτῶν, καὶ οἱ στρατηγοὶ περιρήξαντες αὐτῶν τὰ ἱμάτια ἐκέλευον ῥαβδίζειν,
23 [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.
πολλάς ⸀τεἐπιθέντες αὐτοῖς πληγὰς ἔβαλον εἰς φυλακήν, παραγγείλαντες τῷ δεσμοφύλακι ἀσφαλῶς τηρεῖν αὐτούς·
24 [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].
ὃς παραγγελίαν τοιαύτην ⸀λαβὼνἔβαλεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν φυλακὴν καὶ τοὺς πόδας ⸂ἠσφαλίσατο αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ ξύλον.
25 About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying [aloud] and praising God by singing hymns. The [other] prisoners were listening attentively to them.
Κατὰ δὲ τὸ μεσονύκτιον Παῦλος καὶ Σιλᾶς προσευχόμενοι ὕμνουν τὸν θεόν, ἐπηκροῶντο δὲ αὐτῶν οἱ δέσμιοι·
26 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.
ἄφνω δὲσεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας ὥστε σαλευθῆναι τὰ θεμέλια τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου, ἠνεῴχθησαν ⸀δὲ παραχρῆμα αἱ θύραι πᾶσαι, καὶ πάντων τὰ δεσμὰ ἀνέθη.
27 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].
ἔξυπνος δὲ γενόμενος ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ καὶ ἰδὼν ἀνεῳγμένας τὰς θύρας τῆς φυλακῆς σπασάμενος ⸀τὴνμάχαιραν ἤμελλεν ἑαυτὸν ἀναιρεῖν, νομίζων ἐκπεφευγέναι τοὺς δεσμίους.
28 Paul [saw the jailer and] shouted to him, “Do not harm yourself! We [(exc) prisoners] are all here!”
ἐφώνησεν δὲ ⸂φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ὁ Παῦλος λέγων· Μηδὲν πράξῃς σεαυτῷ κακόν, ἅπαντες γάρ ἐσμεν ἐνθάδε.
29 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.
αἰτήσας δὲ φῶτα εἰσεπήδησεν καὶ ἔντρομος γενόμενος προσέπεσεν τῷΠαύλῳ καὶ ⸀τῷ Σιλᾷ,
30 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]?”
καὶ προαγαγὼν αὐτοὺς ἔξω ἔφη· Κύριοι, τί με δεῖ ποιεῖν ἵνα σωθῶ;
31 [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].”
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· Πίστευσον ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον ⸀Ἰησοῦν καὶ σωθήσῃ σὺ καὶ ὁ οἶκός σου.
32 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.
καὶ ἐλάλησαν αὐτῷ τὸν λόγον τοῦ ⸀κυρίου⸀σὺνπᾶσι τοῖς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ.
καὶ παραλαβὼν αὐτοὺς ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς νυκτὸς ἔλουσεν ἀπὸ τῶν πληγῶν, καὶ ἐβαπτίσθη αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ αὐτοῦ ⸀πάντεςπαραχρῆμα,
ἀναγαγών τε αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν ⸀οἶκονπαρέθηκεν τράπεζαν καὶ ⸀ἠγαλλιάσατοπανοικεὶ πεπιστευκὼς τῷ θεῷ.
35 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]!’”
Ἡμέρας δὲ γενομένης ἀπέστειλαν οἱ στρατηγοὶ τοὺς ῥαβδούχους λέγοντες· Ἀπόλυσον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκείνους.
36 [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!”
ἀπήγγειλεν δὲ ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ τοὺς λόγους ⸀τούτουςπρὸς τὸν Παῦλον, ὅτι Ἀπέσταλκαν οἱ στρατηγοὶ ἵνα ἀπολυθῆτε· νῦν οὖν ἐξελθόντες πορεύεσθε ἐν εἰρήνῃ.
37 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].”
ὁ δὲ Παῦλος ἔφη πρὸς αὐτούς· Δείραντες ἡμᾶςδημοσίᾳ ἀκατακρίτους, ἀνθρώπους Ῥωμαίους ὑπάρχοντας, ἔβαλαν εἰς φυλακήν· καὶ νῦν λάθρᾳ ἡμᾶς ἐκβάλλουσιν; οὐ γάρ, ἀλλὰ ἐλθόντες αὐτοὶ ⸀ἡμᾶς ἐξαγαγέτωσαν.
38 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]}.
⸀ἀπήγγειλανδὲ τοῖς στρατηγοῖς οἱ ῥαβδοῦχοι τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα· ⸂ἐφοβήθησαν δὲ ἀκούσαντες ὅτι Ῥωμαῖοί εἰσιν,
39 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].
καὶ ἐλθόντες παρεκάλεσαν αὐτούς, καὶ ἐξαγαγόντες ἠρώτων ⸂ἀπελθεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως.
40 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].
ἐξελθόντες δὲ ⸀ἀπὸτῆς φυλακῆς εἰσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν Λυδίαν, καὶ ἰδόντες ⸂παρεκάλεσαν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ ἐξῆλθαν.