¹⁶ “Pay attention! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves, so be as prudent as snakes and as harmless as doves. ¹⁷ Be on guard, for there will be people who will hand you over to the local Sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as a testimony to them and to the Goyim. ¹⁹ But when they bring you to trial, do not worry about what to say or how to say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you should say. ²⁰ For it will not be just you speaking, but the Spirit of your heavenly Father speaking through you.

²¹ “A brother will betray his brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. ²² Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever holds out till the end will be preserved from harm. ²³ When you are persecuted in one town, run away to another. Yes indeed; I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Isra’el before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A talmid is not greater than his rabbi, a slave is not greater than his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a talmid that he become like his rabbi, and a slave like his master. Now if people have called the head of the house Ba‘al-Zibbul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! ²⁶ So do not fear them; for there is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim on the housetops.

²⁸ “Do not fear those who kill the body but are powerless to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gei-Hinnom. ²⁹ Aren’t sparrows sold for next to nothing, two for an assarion? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s consent. ³⁰ As for you, every hair on your head has been counted. ³¹ So do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others I will also acknowledge in the presence of my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others I will disown before my Father in heaven.

³⁴ “Don’t suppose that I have come to bring peace to the Land. It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword! ³⁵ For I have come to set

³⁷ Whoever loves his father or mother more than he loves me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than he loves me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And anyone who does not take up his execution-stake and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his own life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you is receiving me, and whoever receives me is receiving the One who sent me. ⁴¹ Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive the reward a prophet gets, and anyone who receives a tzaddik because he is a tzaddik will receive the reward a tzaddik gets. ⁴² Indeed, if someone gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my talmid — yes! — I tell you, he will certainly not lose his reward!”

¹¹ Sailing from Troas, we made a straight run to Samothrace; the next day we went to Neapolis; ¹² and from there, we went on to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that part of Macedonia. We spent a few days in this city; ¹³ then on Shabbat, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we understood a minyan met. We sat down and began speaking to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in fine purple cloth. She was already a “God-fearer,” and the Lord opened up her heart to respond to what Sha’ul was saying. ¹⁵ After she and the members of her household had been immersed, she gave us this invitation: “If you consider me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she insisted till we went.

¹⁶ Once, when we were going to the place where the minyan gathered, we were met by a slave girl who had in her a snake-spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. ¹⁷ This girl followed behind Sha’ul and the rest of us and kept screaming, “These men are servants of God Ha‘Elyon! They’re telling you how to be saved!” ¹⁸ She kept this up day after day, until Sha’ul, greatly disturbed, turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Yeshua the Messiah, I order you to come out of her!” And the spirit did come out, at that very moment.

¹⁹ But when her owners saw that what had come out was any further prospect of profit for them, they seized Sha’ul and Sila and dragged them to the market square to face the authorities. ²⁰ Bringing them to the judges, they said, “These men are causing a lot of trouble in our city, since they are Jews. ²¹ What they are doing is advocating customs that are against the law for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.” ²² The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. ²³ After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in prison, charging the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴ Upon receiving such an order, he threw them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood.

²⁵ Around midnight, Sha’ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Sha’ul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”

²⁹ Calling for lights, the jailer ran in, began to tremble and fell down in front of Sha’ul and Sila. ³⁰ Then, leading them outside, he said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ They said, “Trust in the Lord Yeshua, and you will be saved — you and your household!” ³² Whereupon they told him and everyone in his household the message about the Lord.

³³ Then, even at that late hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed off their wounds; and without delay, he and all his people were immersed. ³⁴ After that, he brought them up to his house and set food in front of them; and he and his entire household celebrated their having come to trust in God.

³⁵ The next morning, the judges sent police officers with the order, “Release those men.” ³⁶ The jailer told Sha’ul, “The judges have sent word to release both of you. So come out, and go on your way in peace.” ³⁷ But Sha’ul said to the officers, “After flogging us in public when we hadn’t been convicted of any crime and are Roman citizens, they threw us in prison. Now they want to get rid of us secretly? Oh, no! Let them come and escort us out themselves!”

³⁸ The officers reported these words to the judges, who became frightened when they heard that Sha’ul and Sila were Roman citizens. ³⁹ They came and apologized to them; then, after escorting them out, requested them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ From the prison they went to Lydia’s house, and after seeing and encouraging the brothers they departed.