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Chapter 24

Balaam, however, perceiving that the Lord was pleased to bless Israel, did not go aside as before to seek omens, but turned his gaze toward the wilderness. When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him, and he recited his poem:

The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor,
    the oracle of the man whose eye is true,
The oracle of one who hears what God says,
    and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
    in rapture[a] and with eyes unveiled:
How pleasant are your tents, Jacob;
    your encampments, Israel!
Like palm trees spread out,
    like gardens beside a river,
Like aloes the Lord planted,
    like cedars beside water;
Water will drip from their buckets,
    their seed will have plentiful water;
Their king will rise higher than Agag[b]
    and their dominion will be exalted.
They have the like of a wild ox’s horns:
    God who brought them out of Egypt.
They will devour hostile nations,
    break their bones, and crush their loins.(A)
Crouching, they lie like a lion,
    or like a lioness; who will arouse them?
Blessed are those who bless you,
    and cursed are those who curse you!(B)

10 In a blaze of anger at Balaam, Balak clapped his hands[c] and said to him, “It was to lay a curse on my foes that I summoned you here; yet three times now you have actually blessed them!(C) 11 Now flee to your home. I promised to reward you richly, but the Lord has withheld the reward from you!” 12 Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not even tell the messengers whom you sent to me, 13 ‘Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not of my own accord do anything, good or evil, contrary to the command of the Lord’? Whatever the Lord says I must say.(D)

The Fourth Oracle. 14 “But now that I am about to go to my own people, let me warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.” 15 Then he recited his poem:

The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor,
    the oracle of the man whose eye is true,
16 The oracle of one who hears what God says,
    and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
    in rapture and with eyes unveiled.
17 I see him, though not now;
    I observe him, though not near:
A star shall advance from Jacob,
    and a scepter[d] shall rise from Israel,
That will crush the brows of Moab,(E)
    and the skull of all the Sethites,
18 Edom will be dispossessed,
    and no survivor is left in Seir.
Israel will act boldly,
19     and Jacob will rule his foes.

20 Upon seeing Amalek, Balaam recited his poem:

First[e] of the nations is Amalek,
    but their end is to perish forever.(F)

21 Upon seeing the Kenites,[f] he recited his poem:

Though your dwelling is safe,
    and your nest is set on a cliff;
22 Yet Kain will be destroyed
    when Asshur[g] takes you captive.

23 Upon seeing[h] [the Ishmaelites?] he recited his poem:

Alas, who shall survive of Ishmael,
24     to deliver them from the hands of the Kittim?
When they have conquered Asshur and conquered Eber,
They too shall perish forever.

25 Then Balaam set out on his journey home; and Balak also went his way.

Chapter 25

Worship of Baal of Peor. While Israel was living at Shittim,[i] the people profaned themselves by prostituting themselves with the Moabite women.(G) These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and the people ate of the sacrifices(H) and bowed down to their god. Israel thereby attached itself to the Baal of Peor,(I) and the Lord’s anger flared up against Israel. (J)The Lord said to Moses: Gather all the leaders of the people, and publicly execute them[j] before the Lord, that the blazing wrath of the Lord may turn away from Israel. So Moses told the Israelite judges, “Each of you kill those of his men who have attached themselves to the Baal of Peor.”[k]

Zeal of Phinehas. At this a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman[l] to his kindred in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. (K)When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he rose up from the assembly, and taking a spear in his hand, followed the Israelite into the tent where he pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman. Thus the plague upon the Israelites was checked; but the dead from the plague were twenty-four thousand.

10 Then the Lord said to Moses: 11 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger from the Israelites by his being as jealous among them as I am; that is why I did not put an end to the Israelites in my jealousy.[m] 12 (L)Announce, therefore, that I hereby give him my covenant of peace,[n] 13 which shall be for him and for his descendants after him the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous on behalf of his God and thus made expiation for the Israelites.

14 [o]The name of the slain Israelite, the one slain with the Midianite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, prince of a Simeonite ancestral house. 15 The name of the slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was head of a clan, an ancestral house, in Midian.

Vengeance on the Midianites. 16 [p]The Lord then said to Moses: 17 (M)Treat the Midianites as enemies and strike them, 18 for they have been your enemies by the deceitful dealings they had with you regarding Peor and their kinswoman Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite prince, who was slain at the time of the plague because of Peor.

III. Second Census of a New Generation and Preparation to Enter the Promised Land

Chapter 26

The Second Census. 19 After the plague

Footnotes

  1. 24:4 In rapture: lit., “falling,” therefore possibly “in a trance.” However, this interpretation is uncertain.
  2. 24:7 Agag: during Saul’s reign, king of Amalek (1 Sm 15:8), fierce enemy of Israel during the wilderness period; see v. 20 (Ex 17:8–16).
  3. 24:10 Balak clapped his hands: a gesture suggesting contempt or derision, apparently made in anger (cf. Jb 27:23; Lam 2:15).
  4. 24:17 A star…a scepter: some early Christian writers, as well as rabbinic interpreters, understood this prophecy in messianic terms. So, for example, Rabbi Akiba designates Bar Kosiba the messiah in the early second century A.D. by calling him Bar Kokhba, i.e., son of the star, alluding to this passage. Although this text is not referred to anywhere in the New Testament, in a Christian messianic interpretation the star would refer to Jesus, as also the scepter from Israel; cf. Is 11:1. But it is doubtful whether this passage is to be connected with the “star of the Magi” in Mt 2:1–12. The brows of Moab, and the skull of all the Sethites: under the figure of a human being, Moab is specified as the object of conquest by a future leader of Israel. The personification of peoples or toponyms is common enough in the Old Testament; see, e.g., Hos 11:1; Ps 98:8. In Jer 48:45, which paraphrases the latter part of our verse, Moab is depicted as someone whose boasting warrants its ruin. In view of the use of Heb. pe’ah (here “brows”) in Nm 34:3 to indicate a boundary, some see in the “brows” of Moab and the “skull” of the Sethites a representation of features of Moab’s topography, i.e., the borderlands and the interior plateau. The Sethites: cf. Gn 4:25; here probably a general designation for nomadic/tribal groups on the borders of Palestine, unless they are to be identified with the Shutu mentioned in Execration texts of the early second millennium B.C. and the fourteenth century Amarna tablets from Egypt; however, the Shutu are not attested in Moab. On the basis of Gn 4:25 and Gn 25, one might also think of a reference to humanity in general.
  5. 24:20 First: lit., “the beginning.” In the Bible, Amalek is a people indigenous to Palestine and therefore considered as of great antiquity. There is a deliberate contrast here between the words “first” and “end.”
  6. 24:21 The Kenites lived in high strongholds in the mountains of southern Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula, and were skilled in working the various metals found in their territory. Their name is connected, at least by popular etymology, with the Hebrew word for “smith”; of similar sound to qayin, i.e., “Kain” or “smith,” is the Hebrew word for “nest,” qen—hence the play on words in the present passage.
  7. 24:22 Asshur: the mention of Asshur, i.e., Assyria, is not likely before the ninth or eighth centuries B.C.
  8. 24:23–24 Upon seeing: this phrase, lacking the Hebrew text, is found in the Septuagint, but without “the Ishmaelites” designated as the subject of the oracle. The Hebrew text of the oracle itself shows considerable disarray; the translation therefore relies on reconstruction of the putative original and is quite uncertain.
  9. 25:1 Shittim: the full name was Abel-shittim, a locality at the foot of the mountains in the northeastern corner of the plains of Moab (33:49). Prostituting themselves: the application to men of such traditional language for apostasy clearly suggests apostasy was taken to be an inevitable consequence of intermarriage with the Midianite women.
  10. 25:4 Publicly execute them: the same phrase occurs in 2 Sm 21:6–14, where the context shows that at least a part of the penalty consisted in being denied honorable burial. In both passages, dismemberment or impalement (perhaps subsequent to the actual execution) as a punishment for the breaking of covenant pledges, is a possible interpretation of the Hebrew phrase.
  11. 25:5 Thereby Moses apparently alters the Lord’s command to execute all the leaders.
  12. 25:6 Midianite woman: according to 22:4, 7, the Midianites were allied with the Moabites in opposing Israel, while 31:16 claims that Balaam had induced the Midianite women to lure the Israelites away from the Lord. They were weeping: on account of the plague that had struck them; cf. v. 8.
  13. 25:11 My jealousy: God’s desire to maintain an exclusive hold on the allegiance of the Israelites.
  14. 25:12 Covenant of peace: by means of this covenant between God and Phinehas, Phinehas can expect God’s protection, especially from any threat of reprisal for his action; cf. Is 54:10; Ez 34:25; 37:26.
  15. 25:14–15 The noble lineage of the slain couple is mentioned in order to stress the courage of Phinehas in punishing them. The zeal of Phinehas became proverbial; cf. Ps 106:30; Sir 45:23; 1 Mc 2:26, 54.
  16. 25:16–18 The account of the execution of this command is given in 31:1–18.

24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel,(A) he did not resort to divination(B) as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness.(C) When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him(D) and he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
    the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,(E)
the prophecy of one who hears the words of God,(F)
    who sees a vision from the Almighty,[a](G)
    who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

“How beautiful are your tents,(H) Jacob,
    your dwelling places, Israel!

“Like valleys they spread out,
    like gardens beside a river,(I)
like aloes(J) planted by the Lord,
    like cedars beside the waters.(K)
Water will flow from their buckets;
    their seed will have abundant water.

“Their king will be greater than Agag;(L)
    their kingdom will be exalted.(M)

“God brought them out of Egypt;
    they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
    and break their bones in pieces;(N)
    with their arrows they pierce them.(O)
Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
    like a lioness(P)—who dares to rouse them?

“May those who bless you be blessed(Q)
    and those who curse you be cursed!”(R)

10 Then Balak’s anger burned(S) against Balaam. He struck his hands together(T) and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies,(U) but you have blessed them(V) these three times.(W) 11 Now leave at once and go home!(X) I said I would reward you handsomely,(Y) but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”

12 Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,(Z) 13 ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord(AA)—and I must say only what the Lord says’?(AB) 14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”(AC)

Balaam’s Fourth Message

15 Then he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
    the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly,
16 the prophecy of one who hears the words(AD) of God,
    who has knowledge from the Most High,(AE)
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
    who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

17 “I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near.(AF)
A star will come out of Jacob;(AG)
    a scepter will rise out of Israel.(AH)
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,(AI)
    the skulls[b](AJ) of[c] all the people of Sheth.[d]
18 Edom(AK) will be conquered;
    Seir,(AL) his enemy, will be conquered,(AM)
    but Israel(AN) will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob(AO)
    and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Balaam’s Fifth Message

20 Then Balaam saw Amalek(AP) and spoke his message:

“Amalek was first among the nations,
    but their end will be utter destruction.”(AQ)

Balaam’s Sixth Message

21 Then he saw the Kenites(AR) and spoke his message:

“Your dwelling place is secure,(AS)
    your nest is set in a rock;
22 yet you Kenites will be destroyed
    when Ashur(AT) takes you captive.”

Balaam’s Seventh Message

23 Then he spoke his message:

“Alas! Who can live when God does this?[e]
24     Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus;(AU)
they will subdue Ashur(AV) and Eber,(AW)
    but they too will come to ruin.(AX)

25 Then Balaam(AY) got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.

Moab Seduces Israel

25 While Israel was staying in Shittim,(AZ) the men began to indulge in sexual immorality(BA) with Moabite(BB) women,(BC) who invited them to the sacrifices(BD) to their gods.(BE) The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to(BF) the Baal of Peor.(BG) And the Lord’s anger burned against them.

The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders(BH) of these people, kill them and expose(BI) them in broad daylight before the Lord,(BJ) so that the Lord’s fierce anger(BK) may turn away from Israel.”

So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death(BL) those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”(BM)

Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite(BN) woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping(BO) at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Phinehas(BP) son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear(BQ) in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped;(BR) but those who died in the plague(BS) numbered 24,000.(BT)

10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites.(BU) Since he was as zealous for my honor(BV) among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace(BW) with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood,(BX) because he was zealous(BY) for the honor(BZ) of his God and made atonement(CA) for the Israelites.”(CB)

14 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman(CC) was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family.(CD) 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi(CE) daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.(CF)

16 The Lord said to Moses,(CG) 17 “Treat the Midianites(CH) as enemies(CI) and kill them.(CJ) 18 They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident(CK) involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 24:4 Hebrew Shaddai; also in verse 16
  2. Numbers 24:17 Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Jer. 48:45); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  3. Numbers 24:17 Or possibly Moab, / batter
  4. Numbers 24:17 Or all the noisy boasters
  5. Numbers 24:23 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew The people from the islands will gather from the north.

Psalm 81[a]

An Admonition to Fidelity

For the leader; “upon the gittith.”[b] Of Asaph.

I

Sing joyfully to God our strength;(A)
    raise loud shouts to the God of Jacob!
Take up a melody, sound the timbrel,
    the pleasant lyre with a harp.
[c]Blow the shofar at the new moon,
    at the full moon, on our solemn feast.(B)
For this is a law for Israel,
    an edict of the God of Jacob,(C)
He made it a decree for Joseph
    when he came out of the land of Egypt.

II

[d]I heard a tongue I did not know:
    “I removed his shoulder from the burden;[e]
    his hands moved away from the basket.(D)
In distress you called and I rescued you;
    I answered you in secret with thunder;
At the waters of Meribah[f] I tested you:(E) ‘Listen, my people, I will testify against you
Selah
    If only you will listen to me, Israel!(F)
10 There shall be no foreign god among you;[g](G)
    you shall not bow down to an alien god.
11 ‘I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
    Open wide your mouth that I may fill it.’
12 But my people did not listen to my words;
    Israel would not submit to me.
13 So I thrust them away to the hardness of their heart;
    ‘Let them walk in their own machinations.’(H)
14 O that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would walk in my ways,(I)
15 In a moment I would humble their foes,
    and turn back my hand against their oppressors.(J)
16 Those who hate the Lord will try flattering him,
    but their fate is fixed forever.
17 But Israel I will feed with the finest wheat,
    I will satisfy them with honey from the rock.”(K)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81 At a pilgrimage feast, probably harvest in the fall, the people assemble in the Temple in accord with the Sinai ordinances (Ps 81:2–6). They hear a divine word (mediated by a Temple speaker) telling how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Ps 81:7–9), gave them the fundamental commandment of fidelity (Ps 81:9–11), which would bring punishment if they refused to obey (Ps 81:12–13). But if Israel repents, God will be with them once again, bestowing protection and fertility (Ps 81:14–16).
  2. 81:1 Upon the gittith: probably the title of the melody to which the Psalm was to be sung or a musical instrument.
  3. 81:4 New moon…full moon: the pilgrimage feast of harvest began with a great assembly (Lv 23:24; Nm 29:1), used the new moon as a sign (Nm 29:6), and included trumpets (Lv 23:24).
  4. 81:7 I heard a tongue I did not know: a Temple official speaks the word of God (Ps 81:5b–16), which is authoritative and unlike merely human words (cf. Nm 24:4, 16).
  5. 81:7 I removed his shoulder from the burden: A reference to the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. The basket: for carrying clay to make bricks, cf. Ex 1:14.
  6. 81:8 Meribah: place of rebellion in the wilderness; cf. Ex 17:7; Nm 20:13.
  7. 81:10 There shall be no foreign god among you: as in Ps 50 and 95, Israel is challenged to obey the first commandment of fidelity to God after the proclamation of the exodus.

Psalm 81[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] Of Asaph.

Sing for joy to God our strength;
    shout aloud to the God of Jacob!(A)
Begin the music, strike the timbrel,(B)
    play the melodious harp(C) and lyre.(D)

Sound the ram’s horn(E) at the New Moon,(F)
    and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
this is a decree for Israel,
    an ordinance of the God of Jacob.(G)
When God went out against Egypt,(H)
    he established it as a statute for Joseph.

I heard an unknown voice say:(I)

“I removed the burden(J) from their shoulders;(K)
    their hands were set free from the basket.
In your distress you called(L) and I rescued you,
    I answered(M) you out of a thundercloud;
    I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[c](N)
Hear me, my people,(O) and I will warn you—
    if you would only listen to me, Israel!
You shall have no foreign god(P) among you;
    you shall not worship any god other than me.
10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of Egypt.(Q)
Open(R) wide your mouth and I will fill(S) it.

11 “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.(T)
12 So I gave them over(U) to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me,(V)
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue(W) their enemies
    and turn my hand against(X) their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe(Y) before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;(Z)
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:1 In Hebrew texts 81:1-16 is numbered 81:2-17.
  2. Psalm 81:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  3. Psalm 81:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Chapter 16

Paul in Lycaonia: Timothy. He reached [also] Derbe and Lystra where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.(A) The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,(B) and Paul wanted him to come along with him. On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,[a] for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem. Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.

Through Asia Minor. They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus[b] did not allow them, so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas. During [the] night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, we[c] sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.

Into Europe. 11 [d]We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace, and on the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city. 13 On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. 14 One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God,[e] listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us.

Imprisonment at Philippi. 16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl with an oracular spirit,[f] who used to bring a large profit to her owners through her fortune-telling.

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Footnotes

  1. 16:3 Paul had him circumcised: he did this in order that Timothy might be able to associate with the Jews and so perform a ministry among them. Paul did not object to the Jewish Christians’ adherence to the law. But he insisted that the law could not be imposed on the Gentiles. Paul himself lived in accordance with the law, or as exempt from the law, according to particular circumstances (see 1 Cor 9:19–23).
  2. 16:7 The Spirit of Jesus: this is an unusual formulation in Luke’s writings. The parallelism with Acts 16:6 indicates its meaning, the holy Spirit.
  3. 16:10–17 This is the first of the so-called “we-sections” in Acts, where Luke writes as one of Paul’s companions. The other passages are Acts 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–28:16. Scholars debate whether Luke may not have used the first person plural simply as a literary device to lend color to the narrative. The realism of the narrative, however, lends weight to the argument that the “we” includes Luke or another companion of Paul whose data Luke used as a source.
  4. 16:11–40 The church at Philippi became a flourishing community to which Paul addressed one of his letters (see Introduction to the Letter to the Philippians).
  5. 16:14 A worshiper of God: a “God-fearer.” See note on Acts 8:26–40.
  6. 16:16 With an oracular spirit: literally, “with a Python spirit.” The Python was the serpent or dragon that guarded the Delphic oracle. It later came to designate a “spirit that pronounced oracles” and also a ventriloquist who, it was thought, had such a spirit in the belly.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra,(A) where a disciple named Timothy(B) lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer(C) but whose father was a Greek. The believers(D) at Lystra and Iconium(E) spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.(F) As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders(G) in Jerusalem(H) for the people to obey.(I) So the churches were strengthened(J) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.(K)

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia(L) and Galatia,(M) having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.(N) When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus(O) would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.(P) During the night Paul had a vision(Q) of a man of Macedonia(R) standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we(S) got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel(T) to them.

Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi

11 From Troas(U) we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi,(V) a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[a] of Macedonia.(W) And we stayed there several days.

13 On the Sabbath(X) we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira(Y) named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart(Z) to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household(AA) were baptized,(AB) she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer,(AC) we were met by a female slave who had a spirit(AD) by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain.