New Testament · Gospels and Acts

Acts chapter 16

Paul arrived in and then , where there was a named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish woman who had Jesus, and his father was Greek.The in Lystra and him.Paul wanted Timothy to come along on the journey, so he him out of consideration for the Jewish people living in those areas, because everyone knew his father was Greek.As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the that the and in Jerusalem had reached, and asked the people to follow them.So the were strengthened in their and grew in number every day.Paul and his companions traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, because had kept them from speaking in the province of .When they came to the border of , they tried to enter , but wouldn’t let them.So they passed by Mysia and went down to .During the night Paul had a : a man from was standing there, urging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”After Paul had the vision, immediately made plans to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to share the with them.We set sail from Troas and headed straight for , and the next day on to .From there we traveled to , a and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. We stayed there several days.On the we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a . We sat down and began talking with the women who had gathered there.One of those listening was a woman named , a from the city of Thyatira, who already . opened her heart to pay close attention to what Paul was saying.When she and the members of her were , she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a genuine ,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a who had . She earned a lot of money for her owners by .She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are of , and they’re telling you the way to be !”She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus , I command you to come out of her!” And it came out that very moment.When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into the to face the .They brought them before the and said, “These men are , and they’re throwing our city into chaos.”They’re promoting that are illegal for us as to accept or practice.The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the judges ordered them stripped and .After they had been severely beaten, they were thrown into , and the jailer was ordered to guard them carefully.When he received these orders, he put them in the and fastened their feet in the .Around midnight Paul and Silas were and , and the other prisoners were listening to them.Suddenly there was a massive that shook the foundations of the prison. All the doors flew open, and everyone’s came loose.The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to , because he assumed the prisoners had escaped.But Paul , “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all still here!”The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and before Paul and Silas.He then brought them out and asked, “, what must I do to be ?”They replied, “ , and you will be rescued — you and your .”Then they spoke to him and to everyone in his house.At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and . Then he and all his family were right away.The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them. He was because he had — he and his whole family.When daylight came, the Roman judges sent their with the message: “Release those men.”The jailer told Paul, “The judges have ordered that you and Silas be released. So you can leave now. .”But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly , even though we are , and threw us in prison. And now they want to get rid of us quietly? No way! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”The officers reported this to the judges, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were .They came and to them. Then they escorted them out and asked them to leave the city.After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to , where they met with the and them. Then they left.