¹Paul then went to Derbe and to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived. His mother was Jewish and a believer, but his father was a Greek.

²The believers at Lystra and Iconium said such good things about Timothy

³that Paul wanted to take him along on the journey. So he circumcised him, since all the Jews who lived in that area knew that Timothy’s father was Greek.

⁴Paul and his group traveled from town to town, reporting what the apostles and elders in Jerusalem had decided the people should do.

⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and the number of believers grew every day.

⁶Paul and his group traveled all through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, looking for a place to stop and preach the word. But the Holy Spirit didn’t let them stop there, or farther west in the province of Asia, either.

⁷When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to go northeast into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them.

⁸So they passed by Mysia and went southwest to Troas, on the coast of the Aegean Sea.

⁹During the night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia standing across the water and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”

¹⁰After Paul had seen this vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, because we concluded that God had called us to preach the good news there.

¹¹At Troas we got into a boat and sailed to the island of Samothrace. The next day we landed on the coast of Macedonia at Neapolis.

¹²From there we traveled to Philippi, which is a Roman colony and the most important city in that part of Macedonia. We stayed there several days.

¹³On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate and walked down to the river because we expected to find a place of prayer there. We sat down and began to speak to the women who’d gathered together.

¹⁴One of the women who listened to us was named Lydia. She was from the city of Thyatira, and she had a business selling purple cloth. She already believed in God, and the Lord opened her heart to accept Paul’s message.

¹⁵When she and her family were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “then come and stay at my house.” She convinced us to make her home our base of operations.

¹⁶One day when we were going to the place of prayer, a female slave met us. She had a spirit that told fortunes. She earned a lot of money for her owners by doing this.

¹⁷She followed Paul and the rest of us around, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They’re telling you how to be saved.”

¹⁸She kept this up for many days. Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and spoke to the spirit that was in her. “In the name of Jesus Christ,” he said, “I command you to come out of her!” At that very moment the spirit left the woman.

¹⁹Her owners realized that they couldn’t hope to make any more money from her. So they grabbed Paul and Silas, dragged them into the marketplace,

²⁰and brought them to the judges. “These men are Jews,” her owners said. “They’re causing trouble in our city.

²¹They want us to start doing things that are against Roman law. We can’t agree to or take part in things like that.”

²²The crowd joined the attack against Paul and Silas. The judges ordered that the clothes be ripped off Paul and Silas and that they be beaten with rods.

²³After they’d been beaten very badly, they were thrown into prison. The jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

²⁴When he received those orders, he put Paul and Silas deep inside the prison and fastened their feet so they couldn’t get away.

²⁵Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake that shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw that the prison doors were open, he pulled out his sword to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted, “Don’t hurt yourself! We’re all here!”

²⁹The jailer called for some lights and fell down in front of Paul and Silas, shaking with fear.

³⁰He brought them out and asked, “My lords, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and then you and everyone living in your house will be saved.”

³²They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

³³In the middle of the night the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Right after that, he and everyone who lived with him were baptized.

³⁴The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal in front of them. He and everyone who lived with him were filled with joy because they had all become believers in God.

³⁵When daylight came, the judges sent their officers to the jailer to order him, “Release them.”

³⁶The jailer told Paul, “The judges have ordered me to set you and Silas free. You can leave now. Go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul replied to the officers, “The judges had us beaten in public. They didn’t give us a trial, even though we are Roman citizens! Then they threw us into prison. And now they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come and lead us out personally.”

³⁸The officers reported this to the judges. When they learned that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.

³⁹So they came and spoke to them politely. They brought them out of the prison and requested them to leave the city.

⁴⁰So Paul and Silas were freed, and they went to Lydia’s house. They met with the brothers and sisters there and encouraged them. Then they left Philippi.