1 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 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Lydia
A worshiper of God from Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth at Philippi whose heart the Lord opened to Paul's message; she and her household were baptized.
Cited in the guide: Acts 16:14; Acts 16:40
Silas
A leading man among the brothers in Jerusalem and a prophet, chosen to accompany Paul on his second journey; he was imprisoned with Paul at Philippi and is elsewhere called…
Cited in the guide: Acts 15:22; Acts 15:40; Acts 16:25
Timothy
A disciple from Lystra with a Greek father and a believing Jewish mother, whom Paul circumcised and took with him as a coworker; he received two letters from Paul.
Cited in the guide: Acts 16:1; 1 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 2:19
Places
Philippi
A Roman colony on the Via Egnatia and the site of Paul's first European converts — a beloved church to which he later wrote from prison.
Cited in the guide: Acts 16:12; Acts 16:25; Philippians 1:1
Cross references (40)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Timothy 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Acts 18:5; 1 Timothy 1:2
- 2 1 Timothy 5:10; 2 Timothy 3:15; Acts 16:40; 1 Timothy 3:7; 2 Timothy 3:11
- 3 Galatians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 9:20; Galatians 5:6; Galatians 5:1–3; Acts 15:40
- 4 Acts 15:28–29; Acts 15:2; Acts 11:30; Acts 15:6
- 5 Acts 9:31; Acts 2:47; Acts 6:7; 1 Peter 5:10; Acts 15:41
- 6 Acts 18:23; Acts 16:7; Galatians 1:2; Acts 11:12; Acts 13:2–4
- 7 Philippians 1:19; Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:9; Acts 8:29; 1 Peter 1:1
- 8 2 Timothy 4:13; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Acts 16:11; Acts 20:5
- 9 Acts 19:21; Acts 18:5; Acts 9:10–12; Romans 15:26; Acts 18:9–10
- 10 2 Corinthians 2:12–13; Acts 14:7; Psalm 119:60; Acts 21:1–18; Acts 27:1–28:16
- 11 Acts 21:1; Acts 16:8
- 12 1 Thessalonians 2:2; Philippians 1:1; Acts 20:6; Acts 16:9; Acts 16:21
- 13 Acts 13:14; Acts 21:5; Colossians 1:23; Acts 18:4; Acts 20:7
- 14 Luke 24:45; Ephesians 1:17–18; Isaiah 50:5; John 6:44–45; Revelation 3:20
- 15 Acts 11:14; Hebrews 13:2; Acts 16:33; Luke 24:29; Genesis 19:3
- 16 Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:9–11; Isaiah 8:19; 1 Chronicles 10:13; 1 Samuel 28:7
- 17 John 14:6; 1 Peter 2:16; Mark 5:7; Daniel 6:20; Daniel 3:28
- 18 Mark 16:17; Luke 10:17–19; Acts 3:6; Acts 19:12–17; Acts 9:34
- 19 Acts 17:6; Acts 21:30; 2 Corinthians 6:5; Acts 16:16; Acts 8:3
- 20 James 4:4; Romans 12:2; Acts 28:22; John 15:18–20; Acts 17:6–8
- 21 Esther 3:8; Acts 16:12; Jeremiah 10:3; Acts 26:3
- 22 1 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 6:5; Acts 22:22–26; Hebrews 11:36; 2 Corinthians 11:23–25
- 23 Revelation 2:10; 2 Timothy 2:9; 1 Samuel 23:22–23; Matthew 27:63–66; Ephesians 3:1
- 24 Job 13:27; Job 33:11; Jeremiah 29:26; Jeremiah 38:26; Psalm 105:18
- 25 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18; Psalm 119:62; James 1:2; Romans 5:3; 1 Peter 1:6–8
- 26 Acts 4:31; Acts 5:19; Acts 12:10; Acts 12:7; Psalm 146:7
- 27 Acts 12:19; Matthew 27:5; 1 Kings 16:18; 2 Samuel 17:23; 1 Samuel 31:4–5
- 28 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Luke 6:27–28; Luke 23:34; Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:44
- 29 Revelation 3:9; Daniel 6:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Acts 9:5–6; Isaiah 66:5
- 30 John 6:27–29; Acts 2:37; Acts 22:10; Luke 3:10; Acts 14:15
- 31 John 1:12; John 3:36; Acts 2:38–39; Romans 10:9–10; Acts 11:13–14
- 32 Romans 1:16; Colossians 1:27–28; 1 Timothy 1:13–16; 1 Thessalonians 2:8; Mark 16:15
- 33 1 Corinthians 1:16; Acts 16:15; Luke 10:33–34; Acts 16:25; Galatians 5:13
- 34 Romans 15:13; Acts 2:46; Romans 5:11; Philemon 7; Isaiah 61:10
- 35 Acts 5:40; Acts 4:21; Jeremiah 5:22; Psalm 76:10
- 36 Acts 15:33; John 14:27; Mark 5:34; 1 Samuel 29:7; Exodus 4:18
- 37 Acts 22:25–29; Proverbs 28:1; Acts 16:20–24; Matthew 10:16; Psalm 94:20
- 38 Acts 22:29; Matthew 21:46; Matthew 14:5
- 39 Matthew 8:34; Mark 5:17; Daniel 6:23; Daniel 6:16; Isaiah 49:23
- 40 Acts 14:22; Acts 16:14; 1 Thessalonians 3:2–3; 2 Corinthians 4:16–18; 2 Corinthians 1:3–7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
was thought likely") to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." See again Paul judaizing.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)
… sailing from Troas, we directed our ship's course towards Samothracia." And then he carefully indicates all the rest of their journey as far as Philippi, and how they delivered their first address: "for, sitting down," he says, "we spake unto the women who had assembled;" and certain believed, even a great many.
Hear, for instance, the seller of purple saying, "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come in, and abide with me." Hear the women, who went about with the apostles, having taken unto themselves manly courage, Priscilla, Persis, and the rest; from whom our present women are as far removed as our men from their men.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)