1 Pervenit autem Derben et Lystram. Et ecce discipulus quidam erat ibi nomine Timotheus, filius mulieris Judææ fidelis, patre gentili. 2 Huic testimonium bonum reddebant qui in Lystris erant et Iconio fratres. 3 Hunc voluit Paulus secum proficisci: et assumens circumcidit eum propter Judæos qui erant in illis locis. Sciebant enim omnes quod pater ejus erat gentilis. 4 Cum autem pertransirent civitates, tradebant eis custodiri dogmata quæ erant decreta ab Apostolis et senioribus qui erant Jerosolymis. 5 Et ecclesiæ quidem confirmabantur fide, et abundabunt numero quotidie. 6 Transeuntes autem Phrygiam et Galatiæ regionem, vetati sunt a Spiritu Sancto loqui verbum Dei in Asia. 7 Cum venissent autem in Mysiam, tentabant ire in Bithyniam: et non permisit eos Spiritus Jesu. 8 Cum autem pertransissent Mysiam, descenderunt Troadem: 9 et visio per noctem Paulo ostensa est: vir Macedo quidam erat stans et deprecans eum, et dicens: Transiens in Macedoniam, adjuva nos. 10 Ut autem visum vidit, statim quæsivimus proficisci in Macedoniam, certi facti quod vocasset nos Deus evangelizare eis. 11 Navigantes autem a Troade, recto cursu venimus Samothraciam, et sequenti die Neapolim: 12 et inde Philippos, quæ est prima partis Macedoniæ civitas, colonia. Eramus autem in hac urbe diebus aliquot, conferentes. 13 Die autem sabbatorum egressi sumus foras portam juxta flumen, ubi videbatur oratio esse: et sedentes loquebamur mulieribus quæ convenerant. 14 Et quædam mulier nomine Lydia, purpuraria civitatis Thyatirenorum, colens Deum, audivit: cujus Dominus aperuit cor intendere his quæ dicebantur a Paulo. 15 Cum autem baptizata esset, et domus ejus, deprecata est, dicens: Si judicastis me fidelem Domino esse, introite in domum meam, et manete. Et coëgit nos. 16 Factum est autem euntibus nobis ad orationem, puellam quamdam habentem spiritum pythonem obviare nobis, quæ quæstum magnum præstabat dominis suis divinando. 17 Hæc subsecuta Paulum et nos, clamabat dicens: Isti homines servi Dei excelsi sunt, qui annuntiant vobis viam salutis. 18 Hoc autem faciebat multis diebus. Dolens autem Paulus, et conversus, spiritui dixit: Præcipio tibi in nomine Jesu Christi exire ab ea. Et exiit eadem hora. 19 Videntes autem domini ejus quia exivit spes quæstus eorum, apprehendentes Paulum et Silam, perduxerunt in forum ad principes: 20 et offerentes eos magistratibus, dixerunt: Hi homines conturbant civitatem nostram, cum sint Judæi: 21 et annuntiant morem quem non licet nobis suscipere neque facere, cum simus Romani. 22 Et cucurrit plebs adversus eos: et magistratus, scissis tunicis eorum, jusserunt eos virgis cædi. 23 Et cum multas plagas eis imposuissent, miserunt eos in carcerem, præcipientes custodi ut diligenter custodiret eos. 24 Qui cum tale præceptum accepisset, misit eos in interiorem carcerem, et pedes eorum strinxit ligno. 25 Media autem nocte Paulus et Silas orantes, laudabant Deum: et audiebant eos qui in custodia erant. 26 Subito vero terræmotus factus est magnus, ita ut moverentur fundamenta carceris. Et statim aperta sunt omnia ostia: et universorum vincula soluta sunt. 27 Expergefactus autem custos carceris, et videns januas apertas carceris, evaginato gladio volebat se interficere, æstimans fugisse vinctos. 28 Clamavit autem Paulus voce magna, dicens: Nihil tibi mali feceris: universi enim hic sumus. 29 Petitoque lumine, introgressus est: et tremefactus procidit Paulo et Silæ ad pedes: 30 et producens eos foras, ait: Domini, quid me oportet facere, ut salvus fiam? 31 At illi dixerunt: Crede in Dominum Jesum, et salvus eris tu, et domus tua. 32 Et locuti sunt ei verbum Domini cum omnibus qui erant in domo ejus. 33 Et tollens eos in illa hora noctis, lavit plagas eorum: et baptizatus est ipse, et omnis domus ejus continuo. 34 Cumque perduxisset eos in domum suam, apposuit eis mensam, et lætatus est cum omni domo sua credens Deo. 35 Et cum dies factus esset, miserunt magistratus lictores, dicentes: Dimitte homines illos. 36 Nuntiavit autem custos carceris verba hæc Paulo: Quia miserunt magistratus ut dimittamini: nunc igitur exeuntes, ite in pace. 37 Paulus autem dixit eis: Cæsos nos publice, indemnatos homines Romanos, miserunt in carcerem: et nunc occulte nos ejiciunt? Non ita: sed veniant, 38 et ipsi nos ejiciant. Nuntiaverunt autem magistratibus lictores verba hæc. Timueruntque audito quod Romani essent: 39 et venientes deprecati sunt eos, et educentes rogabant ut egrederentur de urbe. 40 Exeuntes autem de carcere, introierunt ad Lydiam: et visis fratribus consolati sunt eos, et profecti sunt.
Acts 16 Clementine Vulgate
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
Antioch (Syrian)
The empire's third-largest city and the first major Gentile church — the launching base for Paul's journeys. (Distinct from Pisidian Antioch.)
Cited in the guide: Acts 11:26; Acts 13:1-3; Galatians 2:11
Athens
The philosophical center of the Greco-Roman world. Paul engaged Stoic and Epicurean thinkers on Mars Hill (the Areopagus), reasoning toward the resurrection.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:16; Acts 17:22
Corinth
Corinth straddled the isthmus linking mainland Greece to the Peloponnese — a hub of commerce and immorality. Paul founded the church here; a Roman bema traditionally linked to his hearing before…
Cited in the guide: Acts 18:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1
Ephesus
The chief city of Roman Asia, famed for the temple of Artemis. Paul's long ministry sparked the silversmiths' riot; the city is also the first addressed in Revelation.
Cited in the guide: Acts 19:1; Acts 19:28; Revelation 2:1
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
Thessalonica
Capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and a key stop on the Via Egnatia. Paul's brief ministry produced a strong church and two of his earliest letters.
Cited in the guide: Acts 17:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; Acts 17:6
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)