1 ARST Paul and Silas went to the cities of Derbe and Lystra and visited the believers there. Now a believer whose name was Timothy lived in Lystra. His mother was a Jewish woman who believed in Jesus. His father, however, was a Greek man.{ Because this man was not Jewish, he did not observe the law of Moses}. BSB BSB: Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.
2 ARST The believers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy. BSB BSB: The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3 ARST Paul wanted to take Timothy with him when he went to other places, so he arranged for someone to circumcise Timothy. Paul did that so that the Jews who lived in those other places would accept Timothy. Those Jews knew that Timothy’ s non- Jewish father would not have circumcised him. BSB BSB: Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
4 ARST So Timothy went with Paul and Silas, and they traveled to many other towns. In each town they encouraged the believers to do what the apostles and elders in Jerusalem had told them to do. BSB BSB: As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.
5 ARST They helped the believers in those towns to trust Jesus even more. More people became believers every day. BSB BSB: So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
6 ARST Paul and his companions wanted to share the good news about Jesus in the province of Asia. But the Holy Spirit showed them that he did not want them to do that. So they went instead through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia{, trying to discover where the Holy Spirit wanted them to share the good news}. BSB BSB: After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.
7 ARST They arrived at the border of the province of Mysia. From there they wanted to go north into the province of Bithynia. But once again the Holy Spirit showed them that he did not want them to share the good news there. BSB BSB: And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.
8 ARST So they went through the province of Mysia and arrived at Troas{, a city by the sea}. BSB BSB: So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
9 ARST That night God gave Paul a vision in which he saw a man from the province of Macedonia. That man was begging Paul,“Come across the sea to Macedonia and help us!” BSB BSB: During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
11 ARST We got on a boat and sailed from Troas right to the island of Samothrace. The next day we sailed to the city of Neapolis. BSB BSB: We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis.
12 ARST Then we left Neapolis and went to Philippi. It was a very important city in the province of Macedonia. Many Roman citizens lived there. We decided to stay in Philippi for a while. BSB BSB: From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 ARST On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate and walked down to the river.{ Since there was no synagogue in the city,} we knew that Jewish people would gather to pray at a place like that. When we arrived, we saw some women who had gathered to pray. So we sat down and began to tell them about Jesus. BSB BSB: On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there.
14 ARST A woman whose name was Lydia was one of the women who was listening to Paul. She was from the city of Thyatira, She was a merchant who sold luxurious purple cloth. She believed in the God of Israel and worshiped him. The Lord God enabled her to understand what Paul was saying{, and she trusted in Jesus}. BSB BSB: Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
15 ARST Paul baptized Lydia and the others who lived in her house. Then she said to us,“If you recognize that I believe sincerely in Jesus, please come to my house and stay there.” So we accepted her invitation and stayed at her house. BSB BSB: And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
16 ARST Another day, as we were going to the place where people gathered to pray, we met a young woman who was a slave. An evil spirit was giving her the power to tell what would happen to people in the future. People paid a lot of money to the men who were her owners so that she would tell them what was going to happen to them. BSB BSB: One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.
17 ARST This young woman followed Paul and the rest of us everywhere we went. She was continually shouting,“These men serve the God who is the greatest of all gods! They are telling you how God can save you!” BSB BSB: This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!”
18 ARST She continued to do this for many days. Finally, Paul became so upset that he turned toward the young woman and spoke to the evil spirit that was in her. He said,“In the name of Jesus the Messiah, I command you to come out of her!” Immediately the evil spirit left her. BSB BSB: She continued this for many days. Eventually Paul grew so aggravated that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit left her at that very moment.
19 ARST Then her owners realized that she could no longer predict what would happen to people. That meant she could no longer earn money for them. That made them very angry. They grabbed Paul and Silas and took them to the open area of the city where its rulers were{ so that the rulers could judge them}. BSB BSB: When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.
20 ARST The owners of the young woman brought them to the city rulers. They told them,“These men are Jews, and they are greatly troubling the people in our city. BSB BSB: They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil
21 ARST They are teaching that we should do things that our Roman laws do not allow us to do!” BSB BSB: by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”
22 ARST Many people in the crowd joined those who were accusing Paul and Silas.{ This convinced the Roman rulers that they must be bad men.} So the rulers told soldiers to tear the shirts off Paul and Silas and beat them with wooden rods. BSB BSB: The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.
23 ARST So the soldiers beat Paul and Silas badly with rods. After that, they took them and put them into the prison. They told the jailer to make sure they did not get out. BSB BSB: And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
24 ARST Because the officials had told him to do that, the jailer put Paul and Silas into the room that was farthest inside the prison. There he made them sit down on the floor and stretch out their legs. Then he fastened their ankles in holes between two large pieces of wood so that Paul and Silas could not move their legs. BSB BSB: On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 ARST About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God by singing songs. The other prisoners were listening to them. BSB BSB: About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
26 ARST Suddenly there was a very strong earthquake that shook the whole jail. As soon as the earthquake struck, it caused all of the doors of the jail to open and all of the chains that fastened the prisoners to fall off. BSB BSB: Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
27 ARST The jailer woke up and saw that the earthquake had opened the doors of the jail. He thought that the prisoners had left the jail. So he pulled out his sword to kill himself{, because he knew that the city rulers would kill him if the prisoners had escaped}. BSB BSB: When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.
28 ARST Paul saw the jailer and shouted to him,“Do not kill yourself! We prisoners are all here!” BSB BSB: But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 ARST The jailer shouted to someone to bring torches.{ It was midnight and dark, and he wanted to be sure that all the prisoners were still in the prison}. He hurried in{ to the inner cell where he had put Paul and Silas}. The jailer was shaking with fear{, because the rulers had told him to guard them carefully. When he saw that Paul and Silas were still there,} he knelt down in front of them to honor them{ for sparing his life by not escaping}. BSB BSB: Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
30 ARST Then he brought Paul and Silas out of the jail. He asked them,“Sirs, I want God to save me. What do I need to do?” BSB BSB: Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 ARST They answered,“If you put your trust in Jesus as your Lord, God will save you. God will also save everyone in your family if they trust in Jesus.” BSB BSB: They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32 ARST Then Paul and Silas spoke about Jesus to him and everyone in his family. BSB BSB: Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
33 ARST The jailer washed their wounds, even though it was the middle of the night. Then right away Paul and Silas baptized him and everyone in his family. BSB BSB: At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.
34 ARST Then the jailer brought Paul and Silas into his house and gave them some food to eat. He and his whole family were all very happy because they had believed in God. BSB BSB: Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.
35 ARST The next morning, the city rulers told some officers to go to the prison and tell the jailer,“Let those two prisoners go now!” BSB BSB: When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: “Release those men.”
36 ARST When the jailer heard this, he went and told Paul,“The city rulers have told me to let you go. So you two can leave the prison now. Do not worry, no one will arrest you again.” BSB BSB: The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”
37 ARST But Paul said to the jailer, with the officers listening,“The city rulers had their soldiers beat us in front of a crowd. Without convicting us of any crime, they put us in prison. They did those things to us even though we are Roman citizens. And now they want to send us away without telling anyone! We will not accept that! Those city rulers must come themselves and free us from prison.” BSB BSB: But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”
38 ARST So the officers went and told the city rulers that Paul and Silas were refusing to leave the prison unless the rulers came and released them personally. When the city rulers learned that they were Roman citizens, they became very afraid.{ They knew that they had done the wrong thing by beating Roman citizens and putting them in prison without a trial.} BSB BSB: So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
39 ARST So the city rulers came to Paul and Silas and told them that they were sorry for what they had done to them. The city rulers brought them out of the prison and asked them to leave the city. BSB BSB: They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.
40 ARST After Paul and Silas left the prison, they went to Lydia’ s house. There they met with her and the other believers. They encouraged the believers to continue trusting in the Lord Jesus. Then Paul, Silas, and Timothy left the city of Philippi.{ I, Luke, remained there for some time.} BSB BSB: After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house to see the brothers and encourage them. Then they left the city.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.