Font Size
Acts 16
Darby Translation
Acts 16
Darby Translation
16 And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, by name Timotheus, son of a Jewish believing woman, but [the] father a Greek,
2 who had a [good] testimony of the brethren in Lystra and Iconium.
3 Him would Paul have go forth with him, and took [him and] circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew his father that he was a Greek.
4 And as they passed through the cities they instructed them to observe the decrees determined on by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.
5 The assemblies therefore were confirmed in the faith, and increased in number every day.
6 And having passed through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,
7 having come down to Mysia, they attempted to go to Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;
8 and having passed by Mysia they descended to Troas.
9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a certain Macedonian man, standing and beseeching him, and saying, Pass over into Macedonia and help us.
10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to announce to them the glad tidings.
11 Having sailed therefore away from Troas, we went in a straight course to Samothracia, and on the morrow to Neapolis,
12 and thence to Philippi, which is [the] first city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city certain days.
13 And on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where it was the custom for prayer to be, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had assembled.
14 And a certain woman, by name Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, heard; whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul.
15 And when she had been baptised and her house, 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.
16 And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.
17 She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you [the] way of salvation.
18 And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned, and said to the spirit, I enjoin thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour.
19 And her masters, seeing that the hope of their gains was gone, having seized Paul and Silas, dragged [them] into the market before the magistrates;
20 and having brought them up to the praetors, said, These men utterly trouble our city, being Jews,
21 and announce customs which it is not lawful for us to receive nor practise, being Romans.
22 And the crowd rose up too against them; and the praetors, having torn off their clothes, commanded to scourge [them].
23 And having laid many stripes upon them they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely;
24 who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and secured their feet to the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas, in praying, were praising God with singing, and the prisoners listened to them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison shook, and all the doors were immediately opened, and the bonds of all loosed.
27 And the jailor being awakened out of his sleep, and seeing the doors of the prison opened, having drawn a sword was going to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had fled.
28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.
29 And having asked for lights, he rushed in, and, trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 And leading them out said, Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
32 And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, with all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed [them] from their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his straightway.
34 And having brought them into his house he laid the table [for them], and rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God.
35 And when it was day, the praetors sent the lictors, saying, Let those men go.
36 And the jailor reported these words to Paul: The praetors have sent that ye may be let go. Now therefore go out and depart in peace.
37 But Paul said to them, Having beaten us publicly uncondemned, us who are Romans, they have cast us into prison, and now they thrust us out secretly? no, indeed, but let them come themselves and bring us out.
38 And the lictors reported these words to the praetors. And they were afraid when they heard they were Romans.
39 And they came and besought them, and having brought them out, asked them to go out of the city.
40 And having gone out of the prison, they came to Lydia; and having seen the brethren, they exhorted them and went away.
Acts 16
New International Version
Acts 16
New International Version
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. 2 The believers(D) at Lystra and Iconium(E) spoke well of him. 3 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) 4 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) 5 So the churches were strengthened(J) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.(K)
Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia
6 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) 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus(O) would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.(P) 9 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)
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.(AM) 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer(AN) was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.(AO)
25 About midnight(AP) Paul and Silas(AQ) were praying and singing hymns(AR) to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.(AS) At once all the prison doors flew open,(AT) and everyone’s chains came loose.(AU) 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.(AV) 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.(AW) 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”(AX)
31 They replied, “Believe(AY) in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved(AZ)—you and your household.”(BA) 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night(BB) the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.(BC) 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he(BD) was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer(BE) told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”(BF)
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens,(BG) and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.(BH) 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.(BI) 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house,(BJ) where they met with the brothers and sisters(BK) and encouraged them. Then they left.
Footnotes
- Acts 16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.