Acts 16:19–40

¹⁹But 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,

²⁰and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

²¹and ^aare proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ^bRomans.”

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

²²The 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.

²³When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding ^athe jailer to guard them securely;

²⁴¹and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in ^athe ²stocks.

²⁵But about midnight ^aPaul and Silas were praying and ^bsinging hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

²⁶and 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.

²⁷When ^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.

²⁸But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”

²⁹And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before ^aPaul and Silas,

³⁰and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, ^awhat must I do to be saved?”

The Jailer Converted

³¹They said, “^aBelieve in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and ^byour household.”

³²And they spoke the word of ¹the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.

³³And he took them ^athat very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

³⁴And he brought them into his house and set ¹food before them, and rejoiced ²greatly, having believed in God with ^ahis whole household.

³⁵Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.”

³⁶And ^athe jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go ^bin peace.”

³⁷But 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.”

³⁸The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. ^aThey were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

³⁹and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them ^ato leave the city.

⁴⁰They went out of the prison and entered the house of ^aLydia, and when they saw ^bthe brethren, they ¹encouraged them and departed.