Timothy Joins Paul and Silas 1 UDB Paul and Silas went to the cities of Derbe and Lystra and visited the believers there. A believer whose name was Timothy lived in Lystra. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. 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 UDB The believers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy, BSB BSB: The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3 UDB and Paul wanted to take Timothy with him when he went to other places, so he circumcised Timothy. He did that so that the Jews who lived in those places would accept Timothy because they knew that his father was a Greek and had not 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 UDB So Timothy went with Paul and Silas, and they traveled to many other towns. In each town they told the believers the rules that had been decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 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 UDB They helped the believers in those towns to trust more strongly in the Lord Jesus, and every day more people became believers. BSB BSB: So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian 6 UDB Paul and his companions were stopped from speaking the word in Asia by the Holy Spirit, so they went through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia. 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 UDB They arrived at the border of the province of Mysia, and they wanted to go north into the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus kept them from going 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 UDB 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 UDB That night God gave Paul a vision in which he saw a man from the province of Macedonia. He was calling to Paul, saying, "Come 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.”
Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi (Revelation 2:18–29)
11 UDB We got on a boat and sailed from Troas to Samothrace, and the next day we went to the city of Neapolis. BSB BSB: We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis.
12 UDB Then we left Neapolis and went to Philippi. It was a very important city in Macedonia, where many Roman citizens lived. We stayed in Philippi for many days. 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 UDB On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate down to the river. We had heard someone say that Jewish people gathered to pray there. 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 UDB A woman whose name was Lydia was one of the women who were listening to Paul. She was from the city of Thyatira. She sold purple cloth, and she worshiped God. The Lord caused her to pay attention to the message that Paul spoke, and she believed it. 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 UDB After Paul and Silas baptized Lydia and the others who lived in her house, she said to them, "If you believe I have been faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay there." After she said this, we 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.
Paul and Silas Imprisoned 16 UDB Another day, while 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 power to tell the future about people. People paid money to the men who were her owners, in return for her telling them what would 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 UDB This young woman followed Paul and the rest of us, 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 UDB She continued to do this for many days. Finally, Paul became angry, so he turned toward the young woman and spoke to the evil spirit that was in her. He said, "In the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her!" Right away 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 UDB And then her owners realized that she could no longer earn money for them, because she could no longer predict what would happen to people, so they were angry. They grabbed Paul and Silas and took them to the public square where the rulers of the city were. 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 UDB The owners of the young woman brought them to the city rulers and 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 UDB They are teaching that we should follow customs that our laws do not allow us Romans to obey!" BSB BSB: by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”
22 UDB Many of the crowd joined those who were accusing Paul and Silas, and they started to beat them. Then the Roman rulers told soldiers to tear the shirts off Paul and Silas and to beat them with 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 UDB So the soldiers badly beat Paul and Silas 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 UDB 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.
The Conversion of the Jailer 25 UDB 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 UDB Suddenly there was a very strong earthquake that shook the jail. The earthquake 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 UDB The jailer woke up and saw that the doors of the jail had been shaken by the earthquake and now they were open. 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 became free. 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 UDB 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 UDB The jailer shouted to someone to bring torches so he could see who was still in the prison. Shaking with fear, he fell down in front of Paul and Silas. BSB BSB: Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
30 UDB Then he brought Paul and Silas out of the jail and asked: "Sirs, what do I need to do to be saved?" BSB BSB: Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 UDB They answered, "Trust in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved." BSB BSB: They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32 UDB Then Paul and Silas spoke about the Lord Jesus to him and everyone in his household. BSB BSB: Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
33 UDB Then the jailer washed their wounds, right at that time in the middle of the night. Then Paul and Silas baptized him and everyone in his household. 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 UDB Then the jailer took Paul and Silas into his house and gave them food to eat. He and all in his household 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.
An Official Apology 35 UDB The next morning, the city rulers told some soldiers to go to the prison to say to 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 UDB 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 and go in peace!" BSB BSB: The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”
37 UDB But Paul said to the jailer, "The city rulers told men to beat us in front of a crowd, even though we are Roman citizens, and put us in prison. 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 UDB So the soldiers went and told the city rulers what Paul had said. When the city rulers heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid because they had done the wrong thing. BSB BSB: So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
39 UDB 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 UDB 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, and then the two apostles left the city of Philippi. 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.