Acts 16

1 He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. At Lystra he found a disciple, Timothy by name--the son of a Christian Jewess, though he had a Greek father.

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 Timothy was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium,

The believers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy,

3 and Paul desiring that he should accompany him on his journey, took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in those parts, for they all knew 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 As they journeyed on from town to town, they handed to the brethren for their observance the decisions which had been arrived at by the Apostles and Elders in 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 So the Churches went on gaining a stronger faith and growing in numbers from day to day.

[God was helping] the believers in those towns to trust more strongly [in the Lord Jesus], and every day more people became believers.

6 Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message in the province of 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 When they reached the frontier of Mysia, they were about to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit this.

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 So, passing along Mysia, they came to Troas.

So they went through Mysia [province] and arrived at Troas, a [port city. I, Luke, joined them there].

9 Here, one night, Paul saw a vision. There was a Macedonian who was standing, entreating him and 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 So when he had seen the vision, we immediately looked out for an opportunity of passing on into Macedonia, confidently inferring that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to the people there.

[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 Accordingly we put out to sea from Troas, and ran a straight course to Samothrace. The next day we came 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 thence to Philippi, which is a city in Macedonia, the first in its district, a Roman colony. And there we stayed some little time.

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 On the Sabbath we went beyond the city gate to the riverside, where we had reason to believe that there was a place for prayer; and sitting down we talked with the women who had come together.

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 Among our hearers was one named Lydia, a dealer in purple goods. She belonged to the city of Thyateira, and was a worshipper of the true God. The Lord opened her heart, so that she gave attention to what Paul was saying.

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 When she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If in your judgement I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she made us go there.

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 One day, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who claimed to be inspired and was accustomed to bring her owners large profits by telling fortunes.

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 She kept following close behind Paul and the rest of us, crying aloud, "These men are the bondservants of the Most High God, and are proclaiming to you 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 This she persisted in for a considerable time, until Paul, wearied out, turned round and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out immediately.

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 But when her owners saw that their hopes of gain were gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them off to the magistrates in the public square.

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 Then they brought them before the praetors. "These men," they said, "are creating a great disturbance in 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 They are Jews, and are teaching customs which we, as Romans, are not permitted to adopt or practise."

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 The crowd, too, joined in the outcry against them, till at length the praetors ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods;

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, after severely flogging them, they threw them into jail and bade the jailer 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 He, having received an order like that, lodged them in the inner prison, and secured their feet 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 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying [aloud] and praising God by singing hymns. The [other] prisoners were listening attentively to them.

26 when suddenly there was such a violent shock of earthquake that the prison shook to its foundations. Instantly the doors all flew open, and the chains fell off from every prisoner.

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 Starting up from sleep and seeing the doors of the jail wide open, the jailer drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

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 shouted loudly to him, saying, "Do yourself no injury: we are all here.

Paul [saw the jailer and] shouted to him, “Do not harm yourself! We [(exc) prisoners] are all here!”

29 Then, calling for lights, he sprang in and fell trembling at the feet of 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, bringing them out of the prison, he exclaimed, "O 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 "Believe on the Lord Jesus," they replied, "and both you and your household will be saved."

[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 told the Lord's Message to him as well as to all who 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 Then he took them, even at that time of night, washed their wounds, and he and all his household were immediately baptized;

34 and bringing the Apostles up into his house, he spread a meal for them, and was filled with gladness, with his whole household, his faith resting on God.

35 In the morning the praetors sent their lictors with the order, "Release those men."

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 So the jailer brought Paul word, saying, "The praetors have sent orders for you to be released. Now therefore you can go, and proceed on your way 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 to them, "After cruelly beating us in public, without trial, Roman citizens though we are, they have thrown us into prison, and are they now going to send us away privately? No, indeed! Let them come in person 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 This answer the lictors took back to the praetors, who were alarmed when they were told that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

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 Accordingly they came and apologized to them; and, bringing them out, asked them to leave 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 Then Paul and Silas, having come out of the prison, went to Lydia's house; and, after seeing the brethren and encouraging them, they left Philippi.

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].