Act 16:12-40 | NASB1995 | STEP | and from there to Philippi , which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia , a Roman colony ; and we were staying in this city for some days .

Acts 16:12-40

12 and from there to ^aPhilippi, which is a leading city of the district of ^bMacedonia, ^ca Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on ^dthe Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

First Convert in Europe

14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of ^eThyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, ^fa worshiper of God, was listening; ^{▼▼ Lit whose heart the Lord opened}and the Lord ^hopened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and ⁱher household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

16 It happened that as we were going to ^jthe place of prayer, a slave-girl having ^ka spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of ^lthe Most High God, who are proclaiming to you ^{▼▼ Lit a way}the way of salvation.” 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you ⁿin the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very ^{▼▼ Lit hour}moment.

19 But when her masters saw that their hope of ^pprofit was ^{▼▼ Lit gone out}gone, they seized ^rPaul and Silas and ^sdragged them into the market place before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and ^tare proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ^uRomans.”

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

22 The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their ^{▼▼ Or outer garments}robes off them and proceeded to order ^{▼▼ Lit to beat with rods} them to be ^xbeaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding ^ythe jailer to guard them securely; 24 ^{▼▼ Lit who}and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in ^aathe ^{▼▼ Lit wood}stocks.

25 But about midnight ^acPaul and Silas were praying and ^adsinging hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly ^aethere came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately ^afall the doors were opened and everyone’s ^agchains were unfastened. 27 When ^ahthe jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about ^aito kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before ^ajPaul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^akwhat must I do to be saved?”

The Jailer Converted

31 They said, ^al“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^amyour household.” 32 And they spoke the word of ^{▼▼ Two early mss read God}the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them ^aothat very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set ^{▼▼ Lit a table}food before them, and rejoiced ^{▼▼ Or greatly with his whole household, having believed in God}greatly, having believed in God with ^arhis whole household.

35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And ^asthe jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go ^atin peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, ^aumen who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” 38 The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. ^avThey were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them ^awto leave the city. 40 They went out of the prison and entered the house of ^axLydia, and when they saw ^aythe brethren, they ^{▼▼ Or exhorted}encouraged them and departed.