Acts 16

Tree of Life Version

16 Now Paul came to Derbe and Lystra. There was a disciple there named Timothy, son of a woman who was a Jewish believer and a Greek father, ² who was well-spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted this man to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him for the sake of the Jewish people in those places—for they all knew that his father was Greek.

⁴ As they were traveling through the cities, they were handing down the rulings that had been decided upon by the emissaries and elders in Jerusalem, for them to keep. ⁵ So Messiah’s communities were strengthened in the faith and kept increasing daily in number.

Going West to Macedonia

⁶ They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Ruach ha-Kodesh to speak the word in Asia. ^{[a] 7} When they came to Mysia, they were trying to proceed into Bithynia, but the Ruach of Yeshua would not allow them. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

⁹ Now a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man from Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ As soon as he had seen the vision, immediately we tried to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

¹¹ So we put out to sea from Troas and made a straight course for Samothrace, the next day on to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to Philippi—which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia as well as a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for several days.

¹³ On Yom Shabbat, we went outside the gate to the river, where we expected a place of prayer to be. We sat down and began speaking with the women who had gathered. ¹⁴ A woman named Lydia—a seller of purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a God-fearer—was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.

¹⁵ When she was immersed, along with her household, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she insisted.^[b]

¹⁶ It so happened that as we were going to prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination, who was bringing her masters much profit from her fortune-telling. ^{[c] 17} Following after Paul and us, she kept shouting, saying, “These men are servants of El Elyon, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ She kept doing this for many days. But Paul was irritated and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Messiah Yeshua to come out of her!” And it came out of her that very moment.

¹⁹ But when her masters saw that the hope of profit was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. ²⁰ And when they brought them to the chief authorities, they said, “These men are throwing our city into an uproar! Being Jewish, ²¹ they advocate customs which are not permitted for us to accept or practice,^[d] being Romans.”

²² Then the crowd joined in the attack on them. So the chief authorities ripped their clothes off them and commanded them to be beaten with rods. ²³ After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴ Having received this charge, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.^[e]

Salvation for a Jailer’s Household

²⁵ But about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a great earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors were unlocked, and everyone’s chains came loose.

²⁷ When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights and rushed in; and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ After he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They said, “Put your trust in the Lord Yeshua^[f] and you will be saved—you and your household!”

³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with everyone in his household. ³³ He took them that very hour and washed their wounds, and at once he was immersed—he and all his household. ³⁴ The jailer brought them to his house and set food before them, and he was overjoyed that he with his entire household had put their trust in God.

³⁵ When day came, the chief authorities sent their police officers, saying, “Release those men.”

³⁶ But the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief authorities have sent orders to release you. So come out now, and go in shalom.”

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers, “They have beaten us publicly without a trial—men who are Roman citizens—and have thrown us into prison. And now they are sending us away secretly? No! Let them come themselves and lead us out!”

³⁸ The police officers reported these words to the chief authorities. They became afraid when they heard they were Romans, ³⁹ so they came and apologized to them. After they escorted them out, they kept begging them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ When Paul and Silas went out of the prison, they visited Lydia’s house. And when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and then departed.