- Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
- 1
- He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived,
- whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.
- 2
- The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
- 3
- Paul wanted to take him along on the journey,
- so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area,
- for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
- 4
- As they traveled from town to town,
- they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders
- in Jerusalem for the people to obey.
- 5
- So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
- Paul's Vision of the Man of Macedoia
- 6
- Paul and his companions traveled throughout
- the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit
- from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
- 7
- When they came to the border of Mysia,
- they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
- 8
- So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
- 9
- During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia
- standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
- 10
- After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia,
- concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
- Lydia's Cobversion in Phillippi
- 11
- From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace,
- and the next day on to Neapolis.
- 12
- From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city
- of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
- 13
- On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river,
- where we expected to find a place of prayer.
- We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
- 14
- One of those listening was a woman named Lydia,
- a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God.
- The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
- 15
- When she and the members of her household were baptized,
- she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord,"
- she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.
- Paul and Silas in Prison
- 16
- Once when we were going to the place of prayer,
- we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.
- She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
- 17
- This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting,
- "These men are servants of the Most High God,
- who are telling you the way to be saved."
- 18
- She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled
- that he turned around and said to the spirit,
- "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!"
- At that moment the spirit left her.
- 19
- When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of
- making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and
- dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
- 20
- They brought them before the magistrates and said,
- "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar
- 21
- by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
- 22
- The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas,
- and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.
- 23
- After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison,
- and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
- 24
- Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell
- and fastened their feet in the stocks.
- 25
- About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
- and the other prisoners were listening to them.
- 26
- Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake
- that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
- At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.
- 27
- The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open,
- he drew his sword and was about to kill himself
- because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
- 28
- But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
- 29
- The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
- 30
- He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
- 31
- They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--
- you and your household."
- 32
- Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
- 33
- At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds;
- then immediately he and all his family were baptized.
- 34
- The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them;
- he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--
- he and his whole family.
- 35
- When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers
- to the jailer with the order: "Release those men."
- 36
- The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that
- you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."
- 37
- But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial,
- even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison.
- And now do they want to get rid of us quietly?
- No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."
- 38
- The officers reported this to the magistrates,
- and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.
- 39
- They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison,
- requesting them to leave the city.
- 40
- After Paul and Silas came out of the prison,
- they went to Lydia's house, where they met
- with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.