Book of Common Prayer

¹⁶ As we were going to the place of prayer we were met by a girl who had a spirit of divination. She and her oracles made a good living for her owners. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us.

“These men are servants of God Most High!” she would shout out. “They are declaring to you the way of salvation!”

¹⁸ She did this for many days. Eventually, Paul got fed up with it. He turned round and addressed the spirit.

“I command you in the name of Jesus the Messiah,” he said, “come out of her!”

And it came out then and there.

¹⁹ When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of profit had vanished, they seized Paul and Silas, dragged them into the public square before the authorities, ²⁰ and presented them to the magistrates.

“These men,” they said, “are throwing our city into an uproar! They are Jews, ²¹ and they are teaching customs which it’s illegal for us Romans to accept or practice!”

²² The crowd joined in the attack on them, and the magistrates had their clothes torn off them and gave orders for them to be beaten with rods. ²³ When they had thoroughly beaten them, they threw them into prison, and gave orders to the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴ With that instruction, he put them into the innermost part of the prison, and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The seed must die

²⁰ Some Greeks had come up with all the others to worship at the festival. ²¹ They went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee.

“Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”

²² Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went together to tell Jesus.

²³ “The time has come,” said Jesus in reply. “This is the moment for the son of man to be glorified. ²⁴ I’m telling you the solemn truth: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains all by itself. If it dies, though, it will produce lots of fruit. ²⁵ If you love your life, you’ll lose it. If you hate your life in this world, you’ll keep it for the life of the coming age.

²⁶ “If anyone serves me, they must follow me. Where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the father will honor them.”