Acts 16

1 Paul came [arrived at, reached] to Derbe [a city in Asia Minor] and then [after that, next] to Lystra [a city where Paul and Barnabas preached], where he found [discovered, encountered] a disciple [learner, follower] named Timothy [dear to God], the son [offspring, child] of a believing [faithful, trusting] Jewish [of Judah, Hebrew] woman [mother, female parent] and a Greek [Gentile, non-Jewish] father [male parent, ancestor]. word study 2 The brothers [fellow Christians, male siblings] in Lystra [a city in Asia Minor] and Iconium [a city where Paul preached] spoke well [gave a good testimony, were well reported] of him [who was well testified to, highly regarded]. word study 3 Paul wanted Timothy [to accompany him, to go forth with him] to accompany him, so he took him [and received him, and he took] and circumcised him [because of the Jews, on account of the Jewish people] on account of the Jews [who were in those quarters, in those parts] in that area, for they all knew [perceived, were aware] that his father [a male parent, a Gentile] was a Greek [a non-Jewish person, a Gentile]. word study 4 As they went [traveling through, on their way] from town [city, community] to town, they delivered [handed over, surrendered] the decisions [decrees, ordinances] handed down [judged, ordained] by the apostles [messengers, delegates of Christ] and elders [respected leaders, spiritual guides] in Jerusalem [the holy city, the capital of Israel] for the people [believers, followers] to obey [keep, guard, observe]. word study 5 So the churches [assemblies, communities of believers] were strengthened [made firm, established] in the faith [trust, confidence in God] and grew [increased, abounded] daily [every day, day by day] in numbers [quantity, multitude]. word study 6 After the Holy Spirit [the divine Presence, the Helper] had prevented [forbidden, stopped] them from speaking [preaching, proclaiming] the word [the message, the Gospel] in the province [region, territory] of Asia [the Roman province of Asia Minor], they traveled [passed through, went] through the region [country, land] of Phrygia [a region in Asia Minor] and Galatia [a region in central Asia Minor, the Galatic region]. word study 7 And when they came [arrived, reached the border] to the border of Mysia [a region in Asia Minor], they tried [attempted, made an effort] to enter [go into, travel to] Bithynia [a province in Asia], but the Spirit [breath, vital principle] of Jesus [the Messiah, Christ] would not [did not permit, suffered them not] permit [allow, let] them. word study 8 So they passed by [going past, bypassing] Mysia [a region in Asia Minor] and went down [came down, descended] to Troas [a city in Asia Minor, near the Hellespont]. word study 9 During the [darkness of the] night, Paul had a [supernatural] vision [a sight from God] of a man [an adult male] of Macedonia [from the region of Macedonia] standing [in an upright position] and [intensely] pleading [comforting or urging] with him, “Come over [to cross] to Macedonia [the region] and help [to assist] us [I or me].” word study 10 As soon as Paul had seen the vision [a supernatural sight or spectacle], we got ready to leave for Macedonia [a region in Greece], concluding [being assured, having confidence] that God [the Lord, Creator] had called [summoned, invited] us to preach [to announce, proclaim] the gospel [good news, message of salvation] to them [the people of Macedonia]. word study 11 We sailed [setting sail, loosing] from Troas [the city in Asia Minor] straight [with a straight course, directly] to Samothrace [the island in the Mediterranean], and the following day [the next day, the day after] on to Neapolis [the new town, a city in Macedonia]. word study 12 From there [thence, from that place] we went to the Roman colony [a settlement for retired soldiers] of Philippi [a city in Macedonia], the leading [chief, foremost] city of that district [part, region] of Macedonia [a region in Greece]. And we stayed [remained, tarried] there [in the city] several [certain, a few] days [a period of time, 24-hour periods]. word study 13 On the Sabbath [day of rest, seventh day of the week] we went outside [beyond, out of] the city gate [entrance to the town] along the river [stream of running water], where [in the place] it was customary [usual, expected] to find a place of prayer [a location for worship, communion with God]. After sitting down [seating ourselves, taking a seat], we spoke [talked, conversed] to the women [females, wives] who had gathered [assembled, come together] there [in that location]. word study 14 Among those listening was a woman named Lydia [a seller of purple, a successful businesswoman], a dealer in purple cloth [of great value, highly prized] from the city of Thyatira [in Asia Minor, a center of commerce], who was a worshiper of God [revering and adoring the one true deity]. The Lord [God, the supreme authority] opened her heart [the seat of thoughts, feelings, and emotions] to respond to Paul’s message [the gospel, the good news of salvation]. word study 15 And when she and her household had been baptized [immersed in water, fully wet], she urged us, “If you consider me [to be faithful] a believer in the Lord [the supreme Master, God], come [enter, go into] and stay [remain, abide] at my house [home, dwelling].” And she [persistently] persuaded us [constrained, urged]. word study 16 One day as we were going [on our way, traveling] to the place of prayer [worship, communion with God], we were met by a slave girl [a maidservant, a young female servant] with a spirit [a supernatural being] of divination [a divining spirit, claiming to predict the future], who earned [brought in, provided] a large income [much gain, a significant profit] for her masters [lords, owners] by fortune-telling [soothsaying, divining]. word study 17 This girl [a young woman, a servant] followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are [faithful] servants [bondservants, slaves] of the Most High God [the supreme deity, Almighty], who are proclaiming [declaring, announcing] to you the way [path, road] of salvation [rescue, deliverance, spiritual freedom]!” word study 18 She continued this [doing the same thing, persisting] for many days [a long period of time]. Eventually Paul grew so [deeply troubled, vexed] aggravated that he turned and said to the spirit [the evil spirit, a demonic presence], “In the name [the authority and character] of Jesus Christ [the Messiah, the Anointed One] I command [order, instruct] you to come out [to depart, to leave] of her!” And the spirit [the unclean spirit, a malevolent entity] left her at that very moment [immediately, in the same hour]. word study 19 When the girl’s owners [masters, those who controlled her] saw that their hope [expectation, trust] of making money [gaining profit, earning a living] was gone [lost, no longer available], they seized [caught, laid hold of] Paul and Silas and dragged [pulled, drew] them before the authorities [rulers, magistrates] in the marketplace [public square, gathering place]. word study 20 They brought [led, took] them to the magistrates [officers, leaders] and said, “These men [persons, individuals] are Jews [from Judah, of Jewish descent] and are throwing [disturbing greatly, causing turmoil] our city [town, community] into turmoil [trouble, agitation, great disturbance] word study 21 by promoting [teaching, advocating] customs [rules of living, ordinances] that are unlawful [not lawful, forbidden] for us [as Romans, being Roman citizens] Romans to adopt [receive, welcome] or practice [observe, do].” word study 22 The crowd [a large group of people, a multitude] joined in the attack [rose up together, to assault] against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates [officers, leaders] ordered [commanded, gave instruction] that they be stripped [to tear off, rent] and beaten [to strike, whipped] with rods [sticks, staffs]. word study 23 And after striking them with many [many severe] blows, they threw them into [a secure place of confinement] prison and ordered the [guardian of the prisoners] jailer to guard them [safely and securely, without escape] securely. word study 24 On receiving [having taken, accepted] this order [command, charge], he placed [threw, cast] them in the inner [interior, most secure] cell [prison, dungeon] and fastened [secured, made firm] their feet [with chains or stocks, in bondage] in the stocks [wooden beams, a device for restraint]. word study 25 About [at the hour of, in the middle of the night] midnight Paul [the apostle, originally named Saul] and Silas [a Christian companion] were praying [offering petitions to God, worshiping] and singing hymns [praising, worshiping through music] to God [the one true deity, Creator], and the other prisoners [those held captive, in bonds] were listening [giving their full attention, hearing intently] to them. word study 26 Suddenly [without warning, unexpectedly] a strong [great, intense] earthquake [shaking of the ground, tremor] shook [caused to tremble, agitated] the foundations [base, underlying structure] of the prison [place of confinement, jail]. At once [immediately, instantly] all [every, the whole] the doors [entrances, openings] flew open [were swung wide, opened up] and everyone’s [all the prisoners’, every single] chains [shackles, bonds] came loose [were loosed, fell off]. word study 27 When the jailer [keeper of the prison, guardian] woke up [being roused out of sleep] and saw [to see, to perceive] the prison doors [the doors of the prison] open [to open, made accessible], he drew [to draw, pulled out] his sword [a short sword] and was about to kill [destroy] himself [themself], presuming [thinking, supposing] that the prisoners [those held captive] had escaped [to escape, fled]. word study 28 But Paul [the Roman apostle] called out [cried with a loud voice, shouted] in a loud [great, intense] voice, “Do not [refrain from, stop yourself] harm [do evil to, inflict pain on] yourself [your own life, your own soul]! We [all the prisoners, every one of us] are all [completely, entirely] here [in this place, present]!” word study 29 Calling [asking for, shouting to someone to bring] for lights [torches, lanterns], the jailer [prison guard] rushed in [sprang in, leaped in] and fell [came, went down] trembling [shaking with fear, terrified] before [at the feet of] Paul [the Roman apostle] and Silas [Silvanus, his companion]. word study 30 Then he brought them out [to a place of freedom, outside] and asked, “Sirs [lords, masters, authorities], what must I do [to make, to perform, to accomplish] to be saved [rescued, delivered, preserved from harm]?” word study 31 They replied, “Believe [have faith, trust] in the Lord [master] Jesus [God is salvation] and you will be saved [rescued, delivered], you [as an individual] and your household [family, all who live with you].” word study 32 Then Paul and Silas spoke [preached, shared] the word [Logos, the divine message] of the Lord [God, the supreme authority] to him and to everyone [all, every person] in his house [home, household]. word study 33 At that hour [same hour of the night, in the middle of the night] of the night, the jailer took them and washed [bathed, cleansed] their wounds [stripes, blows, injuries]. And without delay [immediately, straightaway], he and all [every member of] his household were baptized [immersed, fully wet]. word study 34 Then he brought them into his home [house, household] and set a meal [food, table] before them. So he and all his household [with all his family] rejoiced [was glad, full of joy] that they had come to believe [trust, have faith] in God [the one true deity]. word study 35 When daylight [at the break of day, early morning] came, the magistrates [high-ranking officers, leaders] sent their officers [police, constables] with the order: “Release [set free, let go] those men [human beings, prisoners].” word study 36 The jailer [keeper of the prison, guardian of the prisoners] informed Paul: “The magistrates [officers, high-ranking leaders] have sent orders [a message, a command] to release [set free, liberate] you. Now [at this present time, currently] you may go on your way [depart, travel] in peace [harmony, freedom from turmoil].” word study 37 But Paul [the Roman apostle] said to the officers, “They beat [publicly whipped, scourged] us [uncondemned, without a trial] publicly [openly, in front of a crowd] without a trial and threw [cast, forcibly put] us into prison [a place of confinement, guard], even though we are [as] Roman citizens [Romans, having the rights and privileges of Rome]. And now [at this present time] do they want to send [expel, thrust] us away [out, forth] secretly [quietly, privately]? Absolutely not [no, by no means]! Let them come [approach, draw near] themselves and escort [lead out, bring forth] us out [from the prison, into freedom]!” word study 38 So the officers [police, Roman lictors] relayed this message [declaration, utterance] to the magistrates [high-ranking officials, governors], who were alarmed [feared, in awe] to hear [listen, understand] that Paul and Silas were Roman [citizens of Rome, Romans by birth] citizens [having Roman rights and privileges]. word study 39 They came [to apologize, and make amends] to appease [to comfort, and plead with] them and led [brought forth, and escorted] them out, requesting [asking, and begging] that they leave [to depart, and go out] the city [the town, and its surroundings]. word study 40 After Paul and Silas came out [from their confinement] of the prison, they went to Lydia’s [the Christian woman from Thyatira] house to see [to visit and encourage] the brothers [fellow believers, siblings in Christ] and encourage [to comfort, to plead with] them. Then [after that, next] they left [departed, went out] the city. word study