Acts 1616ActsPaul's missionary journeysPlain English Version

Plain English VersionBerean Standard Bible

1. Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

2. 1ENGPEVThen Paul and Silas went to the town called Derbi, and then to the town called Listra. A Christian man called Timothy lived in Listra. Timothy’s mother was a Jew, and she believed in Jesus too, but Timothy’s father was a Greek.BSBBSB: 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.
3. 2ENGPEVAll the Christians there in Listra said that Timothy was a good man, and all the Christians in the town nearby, called Iconium, they said that too.BSBBSB: The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
4. 3ENGPEVBut the Jewish people in those places knew that Timothy’s father was Greek, and they knew that the Greek people don’t do a young man operation on their boys, like the Jewish people do. Paul wanted Timothy to go around with him to a lot of places, and he wanted the Jewish mob in every place to be happy with Timothy, so he got them to do a young man operation on Timothy.BSBBSB: 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.
5. 4ENGPEVThen Paul, Silas and Timothy went through that country, and in every town they told the Christians about the things that the leaders in Jerusalem talked about, and they told them all to do everything that those leaders said in their letter.BSBBSB: 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.
6. 5ENGPEVSo the people in the churches in those places, they trusted Jesus more strongly, and every day more people joined them and trusted in Jesus too.BSBBSB: So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

7. Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian

8. 6ENGPEVPaul and his friends wanted to tell the message about Jesus to the people in the country called Asia, but the Holy Spirit told them, “No, don’t go there.” So they went through the countries called Frigia and Galatia.BSBBSB: 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.
9. 7ENGPEVThen they got to the country called Misia, and they tried to go on into the next country, called Bithinia. But again the Holy Spirit said, “No, don’t go there.”BSBBSB: And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.
10. 8ENGPEVSo they went past Misia and got to the town called Troas.BSBBSB: So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
11. 9ENGPEVThey stayed in Troas, and that night, Paul had something like a dream, but he was not asleep, he was still awake. He saw a man from Macedonia country. That man was standing there, and he was saying to Paul, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”BSBBSB: During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
12. 10ENGPEVI, Luke, joined with Paul and Silas there at Troas. After Paul saw that Macedonian man, we knew that God wanted us to tell the good news to the people in Macedonia, and we got ready to go there.BSBBSB: As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

13. Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

    (Revelation 2:18–29)

14. 11ENGPEVWe got on a ship and went straight to the town called Samothrace, and the next day we got to the town called Niapolis.BSBBSB: We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis.
15. 12ENGPEVWe left the ship there, and we went by road to the town called Philippi, and we stayed there for a few days. Philippi was the main town in that part of Macedonia, and a lot of Roman people lived there.BSBBSB: From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
16. 13ENGPEVOn the next Saturday, we went outside the town to a place near the river. We thought we might see some Jewish people meeting there to pray. Some women were there, and we sat down and talked with them.BSBBSB: 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.
17. 14ENGPEVOne woman was from the town called Thiatira, and her name was Lydia. Her job was to sell purple cloth. She was a woman that respected God. Jesus helped her to listen carefully to the things Paul talked about, and she believed in Jesus.BSBBSB: 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.
18. 15ENGPEVThen we baptised Lydia and her family. After that, Lydia asked us to come and stay at her house. She said, “You mob know that I really believe in our leader Jesus now, so please come and stay at my house.” She kept on asking us until we agreed, so we stayed at her house.BSBBSB: 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.

19. Paul and Silas Imprisoned

20. 16ENGPEVOn another day, we started to go to a place where people meet together and pray to God. There was a young woman on that road that had a bad spirit in her. That spirit showed her things that were going to happen to people later on. Some men made this young woman work for them with no pay. People used to pay a lot of money to her bosses, and then she told those people things that will happen to them later.BSBBSB: 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.
21. 17ENGPEVThat young woman saw Paul and the rest of us going on that road, and she followed us, and she kept on shouting, “These men work for the God that is the greatest of all gods. They can tell you what to do so that God will save you and not punish you.”BSBBSB: 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!”
22. 18ENGPEVShe kept on doing that for a lot of days. In the end Paul got angry. He turned around to the young woman and said to that bad spirit, “My boss, Jesus Christ, says, ‘Get out of her.’” Then the bad spirit came out of that young woman.BSBBSB: 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.
23. 19ENGPEVHer bosses saw this happen, and they thought, “This is bad for us. Now she can’t tell anybody what will happen to them, and she will not get us any more money.” And her bosses were angry with Paul and Silas. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the Roman judges in the middle of that town.BSBBSB: 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.
24. 20ENGPEVHer bosses said to the judges, “These men are making a lot of trouble for everyone in our town. They are Jews,BSBBSB: They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil
25. 21ENGPEVand they are telling people to do things that our Roman law says are wrong.”BSBBSB: by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”
26. 22ENGPEVA lot of other people there joined that woman’s bosses and started blaming Paul and Silas. Then the judges told their soldiers, “Rip the shirts off Paul and Silas, and hit them with sticks.”BSBBSB: The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.
27. 23ENGPEVSo the soldiers hit Paul and Silas really hard with sticks, and then they put them in the jail. They told the boss over that jail, “Make sure Paul and Silas don’t get away.”BSBBSB: And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
28. 24ENGPEVSo the jail boss put them in a little room that was right in the middle of that jail. He made them sit down on the ground, and then he locked their ankles between 2 big bits of wood, so that Paul and Silas couldn’t move their legs.BSBBSB: On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

29. The Conversion of the Jailer

30. 25ENGPEVLater, in the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were praying out loud to God and saying that he is really good, and they were singing songs to God. The other prisoners were listening to them.BSBBSB: About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
31. 26ENGPEVSuddenly there was a very big earthquake. It shook the jail, and even the cement underneath it, and all the doors of the jail swung open, and all the chains fell off the arms and legs of all the prisoners.BSBBSB: Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
32. 27ENGPEVThe jail boss woke up and saw that the doors of the jail were open, and he thought, “All those prisoners ran away. I’m in big trouble now.” So he got his big knife, and he was going to kill himself.BSBBSB: 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.
33. 28ENGPEVBut Paul saw the jail boss and shouted to him, “Don’t hurt yourself. We are all here.”BSBBSB: But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!”
34. 29ENGPEVThe jail boss told somebody to bring some lights, then he ran into the jail and got down in front of Paul and Silas, to show them respect. He was so frightened that he was shaking.BSBBSB: Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
35. 30ENGPEVThen he took Paul and Silas out of the jail, and he asked them, “Sirs, what can I do so that God will save me?”BSBBSB: Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
36. 31ENGPEVThey said, “Believe in Jesus, our leader, and God will save you. And he will do the same for your family too.”BSBBSB: They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
37. 32ENGPEVThen Paul and Silas told the jail boss and his family all about Jesus, and they all believed in Jesus.BSBBSB: Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
38. 33ENGPEVThen, while it was still night time, the jail boss washed the sores on their backs, and Paul and Silas baptised the jail boss and his family.BSBBSB: At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.
39. 34ENGPEVThen the jail boss took Paul and Silas into his house, and he gave them some food to eat. And the jail boss and his family were all really happy because they believed in God.BSBBSB: 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.

40. An Official Apology

41. 35ENGPEVThe next morning, the judges said to some policemen, “Go and tell the jail boss, ‘You can let those 2 prisoners go now.’” Then the policemen went to the jail boss and told him that message.BSBBSB: When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: “Release those men.”
42. 36ENGPEVSo the jail boss told Paul, “The judges have sent a message telling me to let you and Silas go free. So you can go quietly out of the jail now.”BSBBSB: The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”
43. 37ENGPEVBut Paul said to the policemen, “No. Yesterday those judges didn’t take us to court to find out if we did anything wrong, or not. They just told men to hit us in front of the crowd. Then they put us in jail. But that is against the Roman law, because we are Romans. You see, even though we are Jews, we are Romans too. Our names are on the list of all the Roman people. So those judges broke the Roman law yesterday. And now they want to send us away while nobody is looking. No way. Those judges have to come to us and tell us that they are sorry, and they have to take us out of this jail themselves.”BSBBSB: 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!”
44. 38ENGPEVSo the policemen went and told the judges everything Paul said. As soon as those judges heard that Paul and Silas were not just Jews, but they were Romans too, they got frightened. Those judges knew they broke the Roman law.BSBBSB: So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
45. 39ENGPEVSo the judges came and talked easy to Paul and Silas. They said, “We are sorry about what happened yesterday.” Then they took Paul and Silas out of that jail, and they kept on asking Paul and Silas to leave that town soon.BSBBSB: They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.
46. 40ENGPEVAfter that, Paul and Silas left the jail and went to Lydia’s house. They met with her and with the other Christians there, and they told them to keep on trusting our leader Jesus. Then Paul and Silas left Philippi.BSBBSB: 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.