Acts 16-20

New King James Version

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Then he came to ^(A)Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, ^(B)named Timothy, ^(C)the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. ² He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he ^(D)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. ⁴ And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the ^(E)decrees to keep, ^(F)which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. ^5 (G)So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

The Macedonian Call

⁶ Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of ^(H)Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in ^[a]Asia. ⁷ After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the ^[b]Spirit did not permit them. ⁸ So passing by Mysia, they ^(I)came down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A ^(J)man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go ^(K)to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Lydia Baptized at Philippi

¹¹ Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to ^(L)Philippi, which is the ^[c]foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. ¹³ And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. ¹⁴ Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of ^(M)Thyatira, who worshiped God. ^(N)The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So ^(O)she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

¹⁶ Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl ^(P)possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters ^(Q)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, ^(R)greatly ^[d]annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” ^(S)And he came out that very hour. ¹⁹ But ^(T)when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^(U)dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

²⁰ And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, ^(V)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 ^(W)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 (X)Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately ^(Y)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, ^(Z)“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ So they said, ^(AA)“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, ^(AB)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 ^[e]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 ^(AC)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 ^(AD)asked them to depart from the city. ⁴⁰ So they went out of the prison ^(AE)and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

Preaching Christ at Thessalonica

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(AF)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² Then Paul, as his custom was, ^(AG)went in to them, and for three Sabbaths ^(AH)reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and demonstrating ^(AI)that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” ^4 (AJ)And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and ^(AK)Silas.

Assault on Jason’s House

⁵ But the Jews ^[f]who were not persuaded, ^[g]becoming ^(AL)envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of ^(AM)Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ^(AN)“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. ⁷ Jason has ^[h]harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, ^(AO)saying there is another king—Jesus.” ⁸ And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. ⁹ So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Ministering at Berea

¹⁰ Then ^(AP)the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more ^[i]fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and ^(AQ)searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. ¹³ But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. ^14 (AR)Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and ^(AS)receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

The Philosophers at Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, ^(AT)his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was ^[j]given over to idols. ¹⁷ Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. ^18 [k]Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this ^[l]babbler want to say?”

Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them ^(AU)Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁹ And they took him and brought him to the ^[m]Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? ²⁰ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Addressing the Areopagus

²² Then Paul stood in the midst of the ^[n]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; ²³ for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: ^24 (AV)God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is ^(AW)Lord of heaven and earth, ^(AX)does not dwell in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He ^(AY)gives to all life, breath, and all things. ²⁶ And He has made from one ^[o]blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and ^(AZ)the boundaries of their dwellings, ^27 (BA)so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, ^(BB)though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for ^(BC)in Him we live and move and have our being, ^(BD)as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ ²⁹ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, ^(BE)we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. ³⁰ Truly, ^(BF)these times of ignorance God overlooked, but ^(BG)now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which ^(BH)He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by ^(BI)raising Him from the dead.”

³² And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” ³³ So Paul departed from among them. ³⁴ However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Ministering at Corinth

18 After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a certain Jew named ^(BJ)Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. ³ So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them ^(BK)and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. ^4 (BL)And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

^5 (BM)When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was ^(BN)compelled ^[p]by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. ⁶ But ^(BO)when they opposed him and blasphemed, ^(BP)he shook his garments and said to them, ^(BQ)“Your blood be upon your own heads; ^(BR)I am clean. ^(BS)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named ^[q]Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. ^8 (BT)Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

⁹ Now ^(BU)the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; ^10 (BV)for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the ^[r]judgment seat, ¹³ saying, “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”

¹⁴ And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. ¹⁵ But if it is a ^(BW)question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.” ¹⁶ And he drove them from the judgment seat. ¹⁷ Then ^[s]all the Greeks took ^(BX)Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.

Paul Returns to Antioch

¹⁸ So Paul still remained ^[t]a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. ^(BY)He had his hair cut off at ^(BZ)Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. ¹⁹ And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, ²¹ but took leave of them, saying, ^(CA)“I^[u] must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, ^(CB)God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

²² And when he had landed at ^(CC)Caesarea, and ^[v]gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. ²³ After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of ^(CD)Galatia and Phrygia ^[w]in order, ^(CE)strengthening all the disciples.

Ministry of Apollos

^24 (CF)Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being ^(CG)fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, ^(CH)though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, ^(CI)he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; ²⁸ for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, ^(CJ)showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Paul at Ephesus

19 And it happened, while ^(CK)Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through ^(CL)the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples ² he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

So they said to him, ^(CM)“We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

³ And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

So they said, ^(CN)“Into John’s baptism.”

⁴ Then Paul said, ^(CO)“John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized ^(CP)in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had ^(CQ)laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and ^(CR)they spoke with tongues and prophesied. ⁷ Now the men were about twelve in all.

^8 (CS)And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading ^(CT)concerning the things of the kingdom of God. ⁹ But ^(CU)when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil ^(CV)of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ And ^(CW)this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Miracles Glorify Christ

¹¹ Now ^(CX)God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, ^12 (CY)so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. ^13 (CZ)Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists ^(DA)took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ^[x]“We ^[y]exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul ^(DB)preaches.” ¹⁴ Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

¹⁶ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, ^[z]overpowered them, and prevailed against ^[aa]them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and ^(DC)fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. ¹⁸ And many who had believed came ^(DD)confessing and telling their deeds. ¹⁹ Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. ^20 (DE)So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

The Riot at Ephesus

^21 (DF)When these things were accomplished, Paul ^(DG)purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through ^(DH)Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, ^(DI)I must also see Rome.” ²² So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, ^(DJ)Timothy and ^(DK)Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

²³ And ^(DL)about that time there arose a great commotion about ^(DM)the Way. ²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of ^[ab]Diana, brought ^(DN)no small profit to the craftsmen. ²⁵ He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. ²⁶ Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that ^(DO)they are not gods which are made with hands. ²⁷ So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and ^[ac]her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”

²⁸ Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized ^(DP)Gaius and ^(DQ)Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. ³⁰ And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. ³¹ Then some of the ^[ad]officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. ³² Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ³³ And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And ^(DR)Alexander ^(DS)motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. ³⁴ But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess ^[ae]Diana, and of the image which fell down from ^[af]Zeus? ³⁶ Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of ^[ag]your goddess. ³⁸ Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a ^[ah]case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. ⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being ^[ai]called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” ⁴¹ And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Journeys in Greece

20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and ^(DT)departed to go to Macedonia. ² Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to ^(DU)Greece ³ and stayed three months. And ^(DV)when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. ⁴ And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also ^(DW)Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and ^(DX)Gaius of Derbe, and ^(DY)Timothy, and ^(DZ)Tychicus and ^(EA)Trophimus of Asia. ⁵ These men, going ahead, waited for us at ^(EB)Troas. ⁶ But we sailed away from Philippi after ^(EC)the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them ^(ED)at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

Ministering at Troas

⁷ Now on ^(EE)the first day of the week, when the disciples came together ^(EF)to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps ^(EG)in the upper room where ^[aj]they were gathered together. ⁹ And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down, ^(EH)fell on him, and embracing him said, ^(EI)“Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. ¹² And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

From Troas to Miletus

¹³ Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had ^[ak]given orders, intending himself to go on foot. ¹⁴ And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for ^(EJ)he was hurrying ^(EK)to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on ^(EL)the Day of Pentecost.

The Ephesian Elders Exhorted

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, ^(EM)from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me ^(EN)by the plotting of the Jews; ²⁰ how ^(EO)I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, ^21 (EP)testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, ^(EQ)repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And see, now ^(ER)I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, ²³ except that ^(ES)the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. ^24 [al]But ^(ET)none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, ^(EU)so that I may finish my ^[am]race with joy, ^(EV)and the ministry ^(EW)which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵ “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. ²⁶ Therefore I testify to you this day that I am ^(EX)innocent^[an] of the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not ^[ao]shunned to declare to you ^(EY)the whole counsel of God. ^28 (EZ)Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit ^(FA)has made you overseers, to shepherd the church ^[ap]of God ^(FB)which He purchased ^(FC)with His own blood. ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure ^(FD)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also ^(FE)from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking ^[aq]perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. ³¹ Therefore watch, and remember that ^(FF)for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

³² “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and ^(FG)to the word of His grace, which is able ^(FH)to build you up and give you ^(FI)an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. ^34 [ar]Yes, you yourselves know ^(FJ)that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. ³⁵ I have shown you in every way, ^(FK)by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶ And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ Then they all ^(FL)wept ^[as]freely, and ^(FM)fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, ³⁸ sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.