Act 16:12-40 | NASB2020 | STEP | and from there to Philippi , which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia , a Roman colony ; and we were spending some days in this city .

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 spending some days in this city. 13 And on ^dthe Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was 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 was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of ^eThyatira, and ^fa worshiper of God. ^{▼▼Lit Whose heart the Lord opened}The Lord ^hopened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 Now 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 woman who had ^ka spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of ^lthe Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” 18 Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you ^min 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 ^oprofit was suddenly gone, they seized ^pPaul and Silas and ^qdragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble, 21 and they ^rare proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are ^sRomans.”

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

22 The crowd joined in an attack 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 ^vbeaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding ^wthe 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 ^ythe ^{▼▼Lit wood}stocks.

25 Now about midnight ^aaPaul and Silas were praying and ^absinging hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly ^acthere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately ^adall the doors were opened, and everyone’s ^aechains were unfastened. 27 When ^afthe jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about ^agto kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before ^ahPaul and Silas; 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^aiwhat must I do to be saved?”

The Jailer Converted

31 They said, “ ^ajBelieve in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^akyour household.” 32 And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them ^althat 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 was ^{▼▼Or overjoyed together with his whole household, since...God}overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with ^aohis whole household.

35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And ^apthe jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go ^aqin peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process-- ^armen who are Romans--they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come ^{▼▼Lit themselves}in person and lead us out.” 38 The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. ^atAnd they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them ^auto leave the city. 40 They left the prison and entered the house of ^avLydia, and when they saw ^awthe brothers and sisters, they ^{▼▼Or exhorted}encouraged them and departed.