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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 NIV</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" 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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 International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/acts/16.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Timothy Joins Paul and Silas</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.</p> <p class="sectionhead">Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging 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>After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.</p> <p class="sectionhead">Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain.">a</a></sup></span> of Macedonia. 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 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>When she and the members of her household were baptized, 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.</p> <p class="sectionhead">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>Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. <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, who are telling you the way to be saved.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>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.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened 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>About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm 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, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>He then 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—you and your household.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can 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 said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, 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.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/acts/16-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">12</span> <span class="footnotebot">The text and meaning of the Greek for <i>the leading city of that district</i> are uncertain.</span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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