Acts 16

Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

1Paul came to the town of Derbe and then to Lystra. A follower of Jesus named Timothy lived there. His mother was Jewish and believed in Jesus. His father was Greek.

2Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

2The believers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy.

3Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

3Paul wanted Timothy to travel with him. So he had Timothy circumcised because of the Jews living in that area. They all knew his father was Greek.

NoteTo be circumcised means a small piece of skin was cut off. It was a sign that a man belonged to the Jewish people.

4And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

4As they went from town to town, they passed on the rules to obey. The apostles and leaders in Jerusalem had decided on them. Apostles were the men Jesus sent out to teach.

5And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

5So the groups of believers grew stronger in what they believed. More people joined them every day.

6Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

6The Holy Spirit would not let them speak God's message in the area called Asia. So they traveled through Phrygia and Galatia instead.

Note"Asia" here does not mean the whole continent we call Asia. It was the name of one Roman area in what is now Turkey.

7After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

7When they came near Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia. But the Spirit of Jesus would not let them.

8And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

8So they went past Mysia and down to the town of Troas.

9And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

9That night Paul saw a vision, like a picture God showed him. A man from Macedonia stood and begged him, "Come to Macedonia and help us."

10And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

10As soon as Paul saw this, we got ready to leave for Macedonia. We were sure God had called us to tell those people the good news.

11Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;

11We sailed from Troas straight to the island of Samothrace. The next day we went on to Neapolis.

12And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.

12From there we went to Philippi. It was the main city in that part of Macedonia, and Rome ruled it. We stayed there several days.

13And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

13On the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, we went outside the city to a river. People often prayed there. We sat down and talked with the women who had come.

14And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

14One woman listening was named Lydia. She came from the city of Thyatira and sold purple cloth. She worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to take in what Paul said.

15And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

15She and everyone in her house were baptized. That means they were washed with water to show they now followed Jesus. Then she said, "If you believe I really trust the Lord, come and stay at my house." She kept asking until we agreed.

16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

16One day we were going to the place of prayer. A slave girl met us. A spirit in her let her tell people what would happen to them. She earned a lot of money for her owners this way.

17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

17She followed Paul and the rest of us and shouted, "These men serve the Most High God! They are telling you the way to be saved!"

18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

18She did this for many days. At last Paul had had enough. He turned and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to come out of her!" The spirit left her right then.

19And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

19Her owners saw that their way of making money was gone. They grabbed Paul and Silas. They dragged them to the leaders in the market place.

20And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

20They brought them to the city judges and said, "These men are Jews. They are making trouble all over our city."

21And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

21"They teach ways that we Romans are not allowed to take up or follow."

22And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

22The crowd joined in against them. The judges had their clothes torn off. Then they ordered the two men beaten with sticks.

23And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

23The men were hit many times. Then they were thrown into jail. The jailer was told to guard them carefully.

24Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

24Because of that order, the jailer put them in the deepest room of the jail. He locked their feet into heavy wooden blocks called stocks.

25And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God. The other prisoners were listening to them.

26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

26Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail down to its base. All the doors flew open at once. Every prisoner's chains came loose.

27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

27The jailer woke up and saw the jail doors standing open. He pulled out his sword to kill himself. He thought all the prisoners had run away.

28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

28But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not hurt yourself! We are all still here!"

29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

29The jailer called for lights. He rushed in, shaking with fear, and fell down in front of Paul and Silas.

30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

30He brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

31They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. This is true for you and for everyone in your house."

32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

32Then Paul and Silas told God's message to him and to all the people living in his house.

33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

33At that same hour of the night, the jailer washed their sore places. Right away he and all his family were baptized.

34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

34He brought them into his home and set food in front of them. He and his whole family were full of joy that they now believed in God.

35And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.

35When morning came, the judges sent officers with this order: "Let those men go."

36And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.

36The jailer told Paul, "The judges have sent word to set you free. So you may leave now and go in peace."

37But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

37But Paul said to the officers, "They beat us in front of everyone, with no trial. And we are Roman citizens! Then they threw us in jail. Now do they want to push us out in secret? No! Let them come here and lead us out themselves."

NoteA Roman citizen had special rights under the law. One right was that he could not be beaten before a fair trial.

38And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.

38The officers told the judges what Paul had said. The judges were scared when they heard the men were Roman citizens.

39And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.

39So the judges came and spoke kindly to them. They led them out of the jail. Then they asked them to leave the city.

40And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

40Paul and Silas left the jail and went to Lydia's house. They saw the believers there and cheered them up. Then they left the city.