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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Acts 16 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/acts/16.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/acts/16-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Acts 16</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../acts/15.htm" title="Acts 15">◄</a> Acts 16 <a href="../acts/17.htm" title="Acts 17">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/acts/16.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Paul’s Second Missionary Journey</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Timothy was well thought of by the believers<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> in Lystra and Iconium, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day.</p><p class="hdg">A Call from Macedonia</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>So we<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.</p><p class="hdg">Lydia of Philippi Believes in Jesus</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.</p><p class="hdg">Paul and Silas in Prison</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>“The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">16:2 </span><span class="ft">Greek </span><span class="it">brothers;</span><span class="ft"> also in 16:40.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">16:6-7 </span><span class="it">Phrygia, Galatia, Asia, Mysia,</span><span class="ft"> and </span><span class="it">Bithynia</span><span class="ft"> were all districts in what is now Turkey.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">16:10 </span><span class="ft">Luke, the writer of this book, here joined Paul and accompanied him on his journey.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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