Acts 16:16-40
New King James Version
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl (A)possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters (B)much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, (C)greatly [a]annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” (D)And he came out that very hour. 19 But (E)when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and (F)dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, (G)exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes (H)and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The Philippian Jailer Saved
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 (I)Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately (J)all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”
29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, (K)“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 So they said, (L)“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, (M)he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Paul Refuses to Depart Secretly
35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the [b]officers, saying, “Let those men go.”
36 So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned (N)Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”
38 And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. 39 Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and (O)asked them to depart from the city. 40 So they went out of the prison (P)and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 16:18 distressed
- Acts 16:35 lictors, lit. rod bearers
Acts 16:16-40
New American Standard Bible
16 It happened that as we were going to (A)the place of prayer, a slave woman who had (B)a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of (C)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” 18 Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you (D)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very [a]moment.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of (E)profit was suddenly gone, they seized (F)Paul and Silas and (G)dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble, 21 and they (H)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are (I)Romans.”
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
22 The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their [b]robes off them and proceeded to order [c]them to be (J)beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding (K)the jailer to guard them securely; 24 [d]and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in (L)the [e]stocks.
25 Now about midnight (M)Paul and Silas were praying and (N)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly (O)there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately (P)all the doors were opened, and everyone’s (Q)chains were unfastened. 27 When (R)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about (S)to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before (T)Paul and Silas; 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, (U)what must I do to be saved?”
The Jailer Converted
31 They said, “(V)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and (W)your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them (X)that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set [f]food before them, and was [g]overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with (Y)his whole household.
35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And (Z)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go (AA)in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—(AB)men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come [h]in person and lead us out.” 38 The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. (AC)And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them (AD)to leave the city. 40 They left the prison and entered the house of (AE)Lydia, and when they saw (AF)the brothers and sisters, they [i]encouraged them and departed.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 16:18 Lit hour
- Acts 16:22 Or outer garments
- Acts 16:22 Lit to beat with rods
- Acts 16:24 Lit who
- Acts 16:24 Lit wood
- Acts 16:34 Lit a table
- Acts 16:34 Or overjoyed together with his whole household, since...God
- Acts 16:37 Lit themselves
- Acts 16:40 Or exhorted
Acts 16:16-40
English Standard Version
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 As we were going to (A)the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had (B)a spirit of (C)divination and (D)brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, (E)crying out, “These men are (F)servants of (G)the Most High God, who proclaim to you (H)the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, (I)“I command you (J)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And (K)it came out that very hour.
19 But (L)when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and (M)dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They (N)advocate customs that are not lawful for us (O)as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders (P)to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner (Q)prison and fastened their feet in (R)the stocks.
The Philippian Jailer Converted
25 (S)About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly (T)there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately (U)all the doors were opened, and (V)everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and (W)was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer[a] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he (X)fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, (Y)what must I do to be (Z)saved?” 31 And they said, (AA)“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you (AB)and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them (AC)the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he (AD)was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he (AE)rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, (AF)uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and (AG)they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and (AH)asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited (AI)Lydia. And when they had seen (AJ)the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 16:29 Greek he
Acts 16:16-40
New Living Translation
Paul and Silas in Prison
16 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. 17 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.”
18 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.
19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 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! 27 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. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 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. 34 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.
35 The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” 36 So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”
37 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!”
38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. 40 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.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
