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16 And he came to Derbe and Lystra, and lo, a certain disciple was there, by name Timotheus son of a certain woman, a believing Jewess, but of a father, a Greek,

who was well testified to by the brethren in Lystra and Iconium;

this one did Paul wish to go forth with him, and having taken [him], he circumcised him, because of the Jews who are in those places, for they all knew his father -- that he was a Greek.

And as they were going on through the cities, they were delivering to them the decrees to keep, that have been judged by the apostles and the elders who [are] in Jerusalem,

then, indeed, were the assemblies established in the faith, and were abounding in number every day;

and having gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,

having gone toward Mysia, they were trying to go on toward Bithynia, and the Spirit did not suffer them,

and having passed by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

And a vision through the night appeared to Paul -- a certain man of Macedonia was standing, calling upon him, and saying, `Having passed through to Macedonia, help us;' --

10 and when he saw the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go forth to Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord hath called us to preach good news to them,

11 having set sail, therefore, from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, on the morrow also to Neapolis,

12 thence also to Philippi, which is a principal city of the part of Macedonia -- a colony. And we were in this city abiding certain days,

13 on the sabbath-day also we went forth outside of the city, by a river, where there used to be prayer, and having sat down, we were speaking to the women who came together,

14 and a certain woman, by name Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, worshipping God, was hearing, whose heart the Lord did open to attend to the things spoken by Paul;

15 and when she was baptized, and her household, she did call upon us, saying, `If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, having entered into my house, remain;' and she constrained us.

16 And it came to pass in our going on to prayer, a certain maid, having a spirit of Python, did meet us, who brought much employment to her masters by soothsaying,

17 she having followed Paul and us, was crying, saying, `These men are servants of the Most High God, who declare to us a way of salvation;'

18 and this she was doing for many days, but Paul having been grieved, and having turned, said to the spirit, `I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come forth from her;' and it came forth the same hour.

19 And her masters having seen that the hope of their employment was gone, having caught Paul and Silas, drew [them] to the market-place, unto the rulers,

20 and having brought them to the magistrates, they said, `These men do exceedingly trouble our city, being Jews;

21 and they proclaim customs that are not lawful for us to receive nor to do, being Romans.'

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Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra,(A) where a disciple named Timothy(B) lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer(C) but whose father was a Greek. The believers(D) at Lystra and Iconium(E) spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.(F) As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders(G) in Jerusalem(H) for the people to obey.(I) So the churches were strengthened(J) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.(K)

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia(L) and Galatia,(M) having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.(N) When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus(O) would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.(P) During the night Paul had a vision(Q) of a man of Macedonia(R) standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we(S) got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel(T) to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

11 From Troas(U) we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi,(V) a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[a] of Macedonia.(W) And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath(X) we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira(Y) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart(Z) to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household(AA) were baptized,(AB) she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer,(AC) we were met by a female slave who had a spirit(AD) by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God,(AE) who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.(AF)

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money(AG) was gone, they seized Paul and Silas(AH) and dragged(AI) them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar(AJ) 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans(AK) to accept or practice.”(AL)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain.