Acts 16 - English Standard Version (ESV)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul^[a] came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^(A)Timothy, ^(B)the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. ²He was well spoken of by ^(C)the brothers^[b] at Lystra and Iconium. ³Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ^(D)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance ^(E)the decisions ^(F)that had been reached by ^(G)the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. ⁵^(H)So the churches were strengthened in ^(I)the faith, and they increased in numbers ^(J)daily.

The Macedonian Call

⁶And ^(K)they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. ⁷And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but ^(L)the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. ⁸So, passing by Mysia, they went down ^(M)to Troas. ⁹And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰And when Paul^[c] had seen the vision, immediately ^(N)we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

¹¹So, setting sail from Troas, we ^(O)made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, ¹²and from there to ^(P)Philippi, which is a leading city of the^[d] district of Macedonia and ^(Q)a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. ¹³And ^(R)on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate ^(S)to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ^(T)sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. ¹⁴One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, ^(U)who was a worshiper of God. The Lord ^(V)opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵And after she was baptized, ^(W)and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she ^(X)prevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶As we were going to ^(Y)the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ^(Z)a spirit of ^(AA)divination and ^(AB)brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷She followed Paul and us, ^(AC)crying out, “These men are ^(AD)servants of ^(AE)the Most High God, who proclaim to you ^(AF)the way of salvation.” ¹⁸And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ^(AG)“I command you ^(AH)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And ^(AI)it came out that very hour.

¹⁹But ^(AJ)when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^(AK)dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. ²⁰And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. ²¹They ^(AL)advocate customs that are not lawful for us ^(AM)as Romans to accept or practice.” ²²The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders ^(AN)to beat them with rods. ²³And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. ²⁴Having received this order, he put them into the inner ^(AO)prison and fastened their feet in ^(AP)the stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵^(AQ)About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶and suddenly ^(AR)there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately ^(AS)all the doors were opened, and ^(AT)everyone's bonds were unfastened. ²⁷When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and ^(AU)was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹And the jailer^[e] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ^(AV)fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, ^(AW)what must I do to be ^(AX)saved?” ³¹And they said, ^(AY)“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you ^(AZ)and your household.” ³²And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³And he took them ^(BA)the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he ^(BB)was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he ^(BC)rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

³⁵But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” ³⁷But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, ^(BD)uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” ³⁸The police reported these words to the magistrates, and ^(BE)they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. ³⁹So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and ^(BF)asked them to leave the city. ⁴⁰So they went out of the prison and visited ^(BG)Lydia. And when they had seen ^(BH)the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

Footnotes

Acts 16:1 Greek He
Acts 16:2 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 40
Acts 16:10 Greek he
Acts 16:12 Or that
Acts 16:29 Greek he

Cross references

Acts 16 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

16 And he came to Derbe and Lystra, and lo, a certain disciple was there, by name Timotheus son of a certain woman, a believing Jewess, but of a father, a Greek, 2 who was well testified to by the brethren in Lystra and Iconium; 3 this one did Paul wish to go forth with him, and having taken [him], ...
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Acts 16 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

16 And he came into Derbe and Lystra. And lo! a disciple was there, by name Timothy, the son of a Jewess christian[a], and of the father heathen. 2 And brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium [The brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium], yielded good witnessing to him. 3 And Paul would that thi...
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Acts 16 - Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)

16 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there. His mother was a Jew, a believer, and his father was a Greek. 2 The Christian brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke very well of Timothy. 3 Paul wanted him to go with him. He circumcised him because all the Jews in those places ...
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Acts 16 - World English Bible (WEB)

16 He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him. 3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcis...
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Acts 16 - The Voice (VOICE)

16 1-3 When Paul reached Derbe and Lystra, he invited a disciple named Timothy to join him and Silas. Timothy had a good reputation among the believers in Lystra and Iconium, but there was a problem: although Timothy’s mother was a believing Jew, his father was Greek, which meant Timothy was uncircu...
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Acts 16 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

16 Now Paul came to Derbe and Lystra. There was a disciple there named Timothy, son of a woman who was a Jewish believer and a Greek father, 2 who was well-spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him for the sake of ...
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Acts 16 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas16 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Ico′nium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took...
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Acts 16 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Acts 16 - Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)

16 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy - the son of a believing Jewish woman, but whose father was Greek 2 of whom the brothers at Lystra and Iconium reported well. 3 Paul wanted him to go forth with him. So, he took and circumcised him, because o...
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Acts 16 - New Testament for Everyone (NTE)

Timothy – and New Developments16 Paul went on further, to Derbe and then Lystra. There was a disciple there by the name of Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but with a Greek father. 2 The Christians in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with them, so he t...
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Acts 16 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas16 Paul[a] went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the believers[b] in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him;...
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Acts 16 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

Acts 16 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Acts 16 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas16 Paul[a] went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.(A)2 He was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accomp...
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Acts 16 - New Matthew Bible (NMB)

Timothy is circumcised. Paul preaches at Phillipi, and there he is put in prison. 16 Then Paul went to Derbe and to Lystra. And a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a woman who was a Jewess and believed, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brethren of Lystra and of Iconium spoke wel...
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Acts 16 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey16 Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 Timothy was well thought of by the believers[a] in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so Paul wanted him to join them on ...
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Acts 16 - New Life Version (NLV)

Timothy Starts to Work with Paul16 Paul went down to the cities of Derbe and Lystra. There was a follower there named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish Christian and his father was a Greek. 2 The Christians in the city of Lystra and Iconium respected Timothy. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with him as...
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Acts 16 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas16 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...
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