New Testament in a Year
Timothy Goes with Paul
16 Paul came to Derbe and Lystra [14:6], where a ·follower [disciple] named Timothy lived. Timothy’s mother was Jewish [C her name was Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15)] and a believer, but his father was a Greek.
2 The ·believers [L brothers (and sisters)] in Lystra and Iconium [13:51] ·respected Timothy and ·said good things about [spoke well of; L testified about] him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to travel with him, but all the people living in that area knew that Timothy’s father was Greek. So Paul circumcised Timothy ·to please his mother’s people [L because of the Jews in those places]. 4 ·Paul and those with him [L They] traveled from town to town and ·gave [delivered; passed on] the ·decisions [decrees] made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches became stronger in the faith and grew larger every day.
Paul Is Called to Macedonia
6 ·Paul and those with him [L They] went through the areas of Phrygia [C a region in north central Asia Minor; 18:23] and Galatia [C either the Roman province of Galatia or the old kingdom of Galatia in its north] since the Holy Spirit ·did not let them [prohibited them to; C either through circumstances or divine revelation] ·preach the Good News [L speak the word] in Asia [C a Roman province, in present-day Turkey]. 7 When they came ·near [or opposite] the country of Mysia [C the northwest section of Asia Minor, present-day Turkey], they tried to go into Bithynia [C northern Asia Minor further east than Mysia], but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went to Troas [C a city in northwest Asia Minor]. 9 That night Paul saw in a vision a man from Macedonia [C an area across the Aegean Sea in mainland Greece]. The man stood and ·begged [urged; encouraged], “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we [C the switch to first person plural (“we”) indicates that the author, Luke, joined them (see also 20:5—21:18; 27:1—28:16)] immediately ·prepared [made plans; attempted] to leave for Macedonia, ·understanding [or convinced] that God had called us to ·tell the Good News [preach the Gospel] to those people.
Lydia Becomes a Christian
11 We ·left [embarked/put out to sea from] Troas and sailed straight to the island of Samothrace [C a mountainous island in the north Aegean]. The next day we sailed to Neapolis [C city in Macedonia, the first city Paul visited on the continent of Europe]. 12 Then we went by land to Philippi, a Roman colony [C a town begun by Romans with Roman laws, customs, and privileges] and ·the leading city in that part [or one of the leading cities in that district; or a city in the first district] of Macedonia. We stayed there for several days.
13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river where we ·thought [expected] we would find a special place for prayer [C Philippi evidently had no synagogue because of its small Jewish population]. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them. 14 One of the listeners was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira [C in western Asia Minor] ·whose job was selling [who was a dealer/merchant in] purple cloth [C the most expensive type of material]. She was a worshiper of God [C a God-fearing Gentile; 10:2], and the Lord opened her ·mind [L heart] to pay attention to what Paul was saying. 15 She and ·all the people in her house [her household] were baptized. Then she ·invited us to her home [L urged us], saying, “If you ·think I am truly [L have judged me to be] ·a believer in [or faithful to] the Lord, then come stay in my house.” And she ·persuaded us [urged us strongly] to stay with her.
Paul and Silas in Jail
16 Once, while we were going to the place for prayer, a ·servant [slave] girl met us. She had a ·special spirit [spirit/demon of divination/prediction; L Python spirit; C Python was the serpent god that guarded the Delphic oracle; the term came to be used of the ability to predict the future] in her, and she earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, shouting, “These men are ·servants [slaves] of the Most High God. They are telling you ·how you can be saved [L the way/path of salvation].”
18 She kept this up for many days. This ·bothered [annoyed; exasperated] Paul, so he turned and said to the spirit, “By the ·power [L name] of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!” ·Immediately, [L That very hour] the spirit came out.
19 When the owners of the ·servant [slave] girl saw that their ·source for making money [hope of profit] was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the ·city rulers [leaders; authorities] in the marketplace. 20 They brought Paul and Silas to the ·Roman rulers [magistrates] and said, “These men are Jews and are ·making trouble in [disturbing] our city. 21 They are ·teaching things [advocating customs] that are not ·right [permitted; lawful] for us as Romans to [L adopt/accept or to] do.”
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