Acts 16:1-40 THE HOLY BIBLE-The Acts Of The Apostles Chapter 16:1-40

Acts 16:1-40 THE HOLY BIBLE-

The Acts Of The Apostles Chapter 16:1-40

 

Acts 16:1 He reached (also) Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

 

Acts 16:2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,

 

Acts 16:3 and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,  for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

 

Acts 16:4 As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.

 

Acts 16:5 Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.

 

Acts 16:6 They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia.

 

Acts 16:7 When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus  did not allow them,

 

Acts 16:8 so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.

 

Acts 16:9 During (the) night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

 

Acts 16:10 When he had seen the vision, we  sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

 

Acts 16:11 We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace, and on the next day to Neapolis,

 

Acts 16:12 and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city.

 

Acts 16:13 On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.

 

Acts 16:14 One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God,  listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.

 

Acts 16:15 After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.

 

Acts 16:16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl with an oracular spirit, 6 who used to bring a large profit to her owners through her fortune-telling.

 

Acts 16:17 She began to follow Paul and us, shouting, "These people are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation."

 

Acts 16:18 She did this for many days. Paul became annoyed, turned, and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." Then it came out at that moment.

 

Acts 16:19 When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the public square before the local authorities.

 

Acts 16:20 They brought them before the magistrates 7 and said, "These people are Jews and are disturbing our city

 

Acts 16:21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us Romans to adopt or practice."

 

Acts 16:22 The crowd joined in the attack on them, and the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be beaten with rods.

 

Acts 16:23 After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.

 

Acts 16:24 When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and secured their feet to a stake.

 

Acts 16:25 About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,

 

Acts 16:26 there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.

 

Acts 16:27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew (his) sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.

 

Acts 16:28 But Paul shouted out in a loud voice, "Do no harm to yourself; we are all here."

 

Acts 16:29 He asked for a light and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.

 

Acts 16:30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

 

Acts 16:31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved."

 

Acts 16:32 So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.

 

Acts 16:33 He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized at once.

 

Acts 16:34 He brought them up into his house and provided a meal and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.

 

Acts 16:35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the lictors  with the order, "Release those men."

 

Acts 16:36 The jailer reported the (se) words to Paul, "The magistrates have sent orders that you be released. Now, then, come out and go in peace."

 

Acts 16:37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, even though we are Roman citizens and have not been tried, and have thrown us into prison. And now, are they going to release us secretly? By no means. Let them come themselves and lead us out." 

 

Acts 16:38 The lictors reported these words to the magistrates, and they became alarmed when they heard that they were Roman citizens.

 

Acts 16:39 So they came and placated them, and led them out and asked that they leave the city.

 

Acts 16:40 When they had come out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house where they saw and encouraged the brothers, and then they left.