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1Small Man (Paul) also went to the village of Hide Tanner (Derbe) and then to Set Free (Lystra) . In that village was a follower named He Gives Honor (Timothy) . His mother was a Tribal Woman who trusted in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) , and his father was from an Outside Nation.[#16:1, 3 Greek]
2He Gives Honor (Timothy) was well spoken of by the sacred family at Set Free (Lystra) and Spirit Village (Iconium) .
3Small Man (Paul) wanted to take He Gives Honor (Timothy) with him, so he performed the cutting of the flesh ceremony for him, because of the Tribal People in the area who knew his father was from an Outside Nation.
4As they journeyed through the villages, they instructed the sacred family gatherings to follow the decisions made by the message bearers and elders who were in Village of Peace (Jerusalem) .
5So the members of the sacred family were made strong in the faith, and their numbers grew larger each day.
6Small Man (Paul) and He Gives Honor (Timothy) continued their journey through the territory of Dry Wood (Phrygia) and Land of Pale Skinned People (Galatia) , for the Holy Spirit had held them back from telling the good story in Land of the Rising Sun (Asia) .
7When they came to Land of Beech Trees (Mysia) , they tried to go to Rushing Storm (Bithynia) , but the Spirit of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) would not permit them.
8So they went around Land of Beech Trees (Mysia) and traveled on to the village of Cut Through (Troas) .
9During the night Small Man (Paul) had a vision in which he saw a man from Land of Tall People (Macedonia) standing in front of him. The man was begging him and saying, “Come over to our land and help us!”
10When the vision was done, right away we tried to go into the Land of Tall People (Macedonia) , trusting that Creator had chosen us to tell them the good story.
11So we set off by water straight from Cut Through (Troas) to Sign of Rags (Samothrace) . The next day we came to New Village (Neapolis) ,
12and from there we went on to Village of Horses (Philippi) , the chief village of Land of Tall People (Macedonia) under the rule of the People of Iron (Romans) . There we remained for a number of days.
13Then on the Day of Resting we went outside of the village gate to a nearby river to find a place to send our voices to the Great Spirit. We sat down on the riverbank and spoke to some women who had gathered there.
14One of the women there, named Bitter Fruit (Lydia) , from High Rock House (Thyatira) , was a trader in purple cloths and had great respect for Creator. As Small Man (Paul) spoke, she listened closely to the message, and Creator opened her heart.
15She and her family then participated in the purification ceremony.[#16:15 Baptism]
“If you consider me to be one who trusts in our Honored Chief,” she said to us firmly, “then you must come and stay at my house.” And she would not take no for an answer.
16As we were on our way to where we gathered for prayer, a slave-girl who had an evil snake spirit met us. She brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.[#16:16 Lit. spirit of python]
17She began to follow after Small Man (Paul) and shout out loud, “These men, who serve the One Above Us All, are showing us the way to be set free and made whole.”
18She did this for many days. By so doing , she greatly troubled Small Man (Paul) , who finally turned and spoke to the evil spirit, “As one who represents Creator Sets Free (Jesus) , the Chosen One, I tell you now to come out of this woman!”
19Right away the spirit left her. When her owners saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they took hold of Small Man (Paul) and Woods Man (Silas) and dragged them to the village rulers at the trading post.
20They brought them before the village council and said, “These men are from the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel) . They are bringing trouble to our village
21by trying to force their tribal customs on us. Since we are of the People of Iron (Romans) , we are not permitted to accept or follow these customs.”
22The people who had gathered there also began to speak against them, so the village council stripped their clothes off them and gave orders for them to be beaten with sticks.
23When they finished beating them, they threw them into prison and told the headman of the prison to lock them up.
24So he followed his instructions, put them deep into the prison, and locked their feet in iron bindings.
25In the middle of the night Small Man (Paul) and Woods Man (Silas) were sending up prayers and singing sacred songs to the Great Spirit. The other prisoners were listening,
26when suddenly the earth began to shake violently, and the stones holding the prison up began to tremble. Right then the prison doors were opened, and everyone’s iron bindings fell off.
27When the headman of the prison woke up and saw all the prison doors standing open, he took his long knife and was going to kill himself, for he thought all the prisoners had escaped.
28But Small Man (Paul) shouted out to him, “Do not harm yourself, we are all here!”
29The headman of the prison asked for a torch, and, trembling with fear, he rushed inside and fell down before Small Man (Paul) and Woods Man (Silas) .
30He then took them outside and said, “What must I do to be set free and made whole?”
31“Put your trust in Creator Sets Free (Jesus) , our Honored Chief,” they said to him. “He will make you whole and set you and all your family free to follow him .”
32Then they told Creator’s good story to him and all his family.
33It was still late in the night, but the headman took Small Man (Paul) and Woods Man (Silas) and washed their wounds. Then right away the headman and his family all participated in the purification ceremony.[#16:33 Baptism]
34He then invited them into his home and fed them. His heart was glad because he and all his family had put their trust in the Great Spirit.
35In the morning the village council sent messengers, saying, “Release these men.”
36So the headman of the prison told Small Man (Paul) , “The council has instructed me to release you. You may go in peace.”
37But Small Man (Paul) said, “We are citizens of the People of Iron (Romans) ! They have beaten us before the village without a trial and thrown us in prison, and now they would send us away in secret? No! Let them come here and take us out themselves!”
38The messengers went back and reported what they said to the village council. When they heard that they were citizens of the People of Iron (Romans) , they were afraid.
39So they came and apologized to them, released them, and asked them to leave the village.
40So after they left the prison, they went to the home of Bitter Fruit (Lydia) . There they encouraged the sacred family, and then left to continue their journey .