Acts 16:1–18:22
1 Paul came also to aDerbe and to aLystra. And a disciple was there, named bTimothy, the son of a cJewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,
2 and he was well spoken of by athe brethren who were in bLystra and cIconium.
3 Paul wanted this man to 1go with him; and he atook him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering athe decrees which had been decided upon by bthe apostles and celders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.
5 So athe churches were being strengthened 1in the faith, and were bincreasing in number daily.
6 They passed through the 1aPhrygian and bGalatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in 2cAsia;
7 and after they came to aMysia, they were trying to go into bBithynia, and the cSpirit of Jesus did not permit them;
8 and passing by aMysia, they came down to bTroas.
9 aA vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of bMacedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
10 When he had seen athe vision, immediately bwe sought to 1go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to cpreach the gospel to them.
11 So putting out to sea from aTroas, we ran ba straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis;
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 athe 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.
14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of aThyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, ba worshiper of God, was listening; 1and the Lord copened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
15 And when she and aher 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 athe place of prayer, a slave-girl having ba 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 athe Most High God, who are proclaiming to you 1the 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 ain the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very 1moment.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of aprofit was 1gone, they seized bPaul and Silas and cdragged 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 aare proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being bRomans.”
22 The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their 1robes off them and proceeded to order 2them to be abeaten with rods.
23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding athe jailer to guard them securely;
24 1and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in athe 2stocks.
25 But about midnight aPaul and Silas were praying and bsinging hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
26 and suddenly athere came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately ball the doors were opened and everyone’s cchains were unfastened.
27 When athe jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about bto 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 aPaul and Silas,
30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, awhat must I do to be saved?”
31 They said, “aBelieve in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and byour household.”
32 And they spoke the word of 1the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.
33 And he took them athat 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 1food before them, and rejoiced 2greatly, having believed in God with ahis whole household.
35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.”
36 And athe jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go bin peace.”
37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us in public without trial, amen 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. aThey 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 ato leave the city.
40 They went out of the prison and entered the house of aLydia, and when they saw bthe brethren, they 1encouraged them and departed.
1 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to aThessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
2 And aaccording to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three bSabbaths reasoned with them from cthe Scriptures,
3 1explaining and 2giving evidence that the 3Christ ahad to suffer and brise again from the dead, and saying, “cThis Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the 3Christ.”
4 aAnd some of them were persuaded and joined bPaul and Silas, 1along with a large number of the cGod-fearing dGreeks and 2a number of the eleading women.
5 But athe Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of bJason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people.
6 When they did not find them, they began adragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset 1bthe world have come here also;
7 1and Jason ahas welcomed them, and they all act bcontrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
8 They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.
9 And when they had received a 1pledge from aJason and the others, they released them.
10 aThe brethren immediately sent bPaul and Silas away by night to cBerea, 1and when they arrived, they went into dthe synagogue of the Jews.
11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in aThessalonica, 1for they received the word with 2great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
12 Therefore amany of them believed, 1along with a number of bprominent Greek cwomen and men.
13 But when the Jews of aThessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in bBerea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds.
14 Then immediately athe brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and bSilas and cTimothy remained there.
15 Now athose who escorted Paul brought him as far as bAthens; and receiving a command for cSilas and Timothy to dcome to him as soon as possible, they left.
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at aAthens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
17 So he was reasoning ain the synagogue with the Jews and bthe God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.
18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were 1conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would athis 2idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching bJesus and the resurrection.
19 And they atook him and brought him 1to the 2bAreopagus, saying, “May we know what cthis new teaching is 3which you are proclaiming?
20 “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”
21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers avisiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the 1Areopagus and said, “Men of aAthens, I observe that you are very breligious in all respects.
23 “For while I was passing through and examining the aobjects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what byou worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
24 “aThe God who made the world and all things in it, since He is bLord of heaven and earth, does not cdwell in temples made with hands;
25 nor is He served by human hands, aas though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
26 and aHe made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having bdetermined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, athough He is not far from each one of us;
28 for ain Him we live and move and 1exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’
29 “Being then the children of God, we aought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.
30 “Therefore having aoverlooked bthe times of ignorance, God is cnow declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
31 because He has fixed aa day in