1  And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, by name Timotheus[1], son of a Jewish believing woman[2], but the father a Greek,[3]

2  who had a good testimony of the brethren in Lystra and Iconium.

3  Him would Paul have go forth with him, and took him and circumcised him[4] on account of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew his father that he was a Greek.

4  And as they passed through the cities they instructed them to observe the decrees determined on by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

5  The assemblies therefore were confirmed in the faith, and increased in number every day.

6  And having passed through Phrygia[5] and the Galatian country, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,

7  having come down to Mysia[6], they attempted to go to Bithynia[7], and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;

8  and having passed by Mysia they descended to Troas.

9  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a certain Macedonian[8] man, standing and beseeching him, and saying, Pass over into Macedonia and help us.

10  And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to announce to them the glad tidings.[9]

11  Having sailed therefore away from Troas, we went in a straight course to Samothracia[10], and on the morrow to Neapolis[11],

12  and thence to Philippi[12], which is the first city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city certain days.

13  And on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river[13], where it was the custom for prayer to be, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had assembled.

14  And a certain woman, by name Lydia[14], a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira[15], who worshipped God, heard; whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul.

15  And when she had been baptised and her house, she besought us , saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house[16] and abide there . And she constrained us.

16  And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.

17  She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you the way of salvation.

18  And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned, and said to the spirit, I enjoin thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour.

19  And her masters, seeing that the hope of their gains was gone, having seized Paul and Silas, dragged them into the market before the magistrates;

20  and having brought them up to the praetors, said, These men utterly trouble our city, being Jews,

21  and announce customs which it is not lawful for us to receive nor practise, being Romans.

22  And the crowd rose up too against them; and the praetors, having torn off their clothes, commanded to scourge them .

23  And having laid many stripes upon them they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely;

24  who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and secured their feet to the stocks.

25  And at midnight Paul and Silas, in praying, were praising God with singing, and the prisoners listened to them.

26  And suddenly there was a great earthquake[17], so that the foundations of the prison shook, and all the doors were immediately opened, and the bonds of all loosed.

27  And the jailor being awakened out of his sleep, and seeing the doors of the prison opened, having drawn a sword was going to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had fled.

28  But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.

29  And having asked for lights, he rushed in, and, trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas.

30  And leading them out said, Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved?[18]

31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.

32  And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, with all that were in his house.

33  And he took them the same hour of the night and washed them from their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his straightway.

34  And having brought them into his house he laid the table for them , and rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God.

35  And when it was day, the praetors sent the lictors, saying, Let those men go.

36  And the jailor reported these words to Paul: The praetors have sent that ye may be let go. Now therefore go out and depart in peace.

37  But Paul said to them, Having beaten us publicly uncondemned, us who are Romans[19], they have cast us into prison, and now they thrust us out secretly? no, indeed, but let them come themselves and bring us out.

38  And the lictors reported these words to the praetors. And they were afraid when they heard they were Romans.

39  And they came and besought them, and having brought them out, asked them to go out of the city.

40  And having gone out of the prison, they came to Lydia; and having seen the brethren, they exhorted them and went away.

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[1] (16:1). Timotheus. Timothy was a disciple from Lystra and close friend of Paul, was raised in a strong faith by his Jewish mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. His Gentile father led Paul to circumcise him for better outreach to Jewish communities. Timothy worked with Paul and Silas to spread the gospel in places like Philippi and Thessalonica. His name often appears alongside Paul’s in letters. Paul acknowledged Timothy’s valuable partnership in the gospel (Phil. 2:22) and encouraged him in two letters to overcome shyness, self-doubt, and health issues to be steadfast in spiritual battles, combat false teachings, uphold the truth, and remain faithful in his life and leadership.

[2] (16:1). a Jewish believing woman. This is Eunice. See 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15.

[3] (16:1). Timothy had a mixed heritage and therefore he would have been familiar with both Jewish and Gentile customs and traditions.

[4] (16:3). circumcised him. The Jerusalem council determined that circumcision was not necessary for salvation nor was it mandatory to be part of the assembly. However, due to Timothy’s part-Jewish family background he was circumcised to not cause offence to the Jews and in order for him to be a more affective witness.

[5] (16:6). Phrygia. A region in Asia Minor that was divided into two parts by the Romans, centred around the Lycus River valley. The region included both Jews and Gentiles.

[6] (16:7). Mysia. Land of beech trees, the region about the frontier of the provinces of Asia and Bithynia. The Troas area was part of Mysia and the region was never an independent political entity.

[7] (16:7). Bithynia. Also mentioned in 1 Pet. 1:1. A Roman province in Asia Minor, which is now part of Turkey. 

[8] (16:9). Macedonian. A Roman province north of Greece that was the first European region to receive the gospel from Paul.  

[9] (16:10). Luke joined Paul at Troas and went with him to Philippi.

[10] (16:11). Samothracia. An island in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Thracia, about 32 miles distant. This Thracian Samos was passed by Paul on his voyage from Troas to Neapolis on his first missionary journey. It is about 8 miles long and 6 miles broad. Its modern name is Samothraki.

[11] (16:11). Neapolis. new city, a town in Thrace at which Paul first landed in Europe. A seaport for Philippi about 10 miles away.

[12] (16:12). Philippi. The church in Philippi was the first Christian assembly in Europe, established by Paul during his second missionary journey around A.D. 50 or 51. The church’s earliest members were Gentiles, and it grew to be largely composed of Gentile believers. Women were also a significant part of the assembly in Philippi. The city of Philippi was situated in ancient Greece, on the eastern edge of the Roman province of Macedonia, approximately 10 miles inland from the coast, and directly northwest of its closest port city, Neapolis. In ancient times, Philippi was strategically located on a fertile plain that was traversed by the via Egnatia (Egnatian Way), a trade route that connected the Aegean and Adriatic Seas. Many travelers passed through Philippi on their journeys to Rome.

[13] (16:13). the gate by the river. There was no synagogue in Philippi. The Jewish population was very small. 10 Jewish men were required to establish a synagogue.

[14] (16:14). Lydia. A seller of purple fabric from Thyatira resided in Philippi and was receptive to Paul’s teachings. She and her family were baptized, and she offered hospitality to Paul and his associates. After they were freed from prison, Paul and Silas visited her home, where believers had assembled.

[15] (16:14). Thyatira. A prosperous town located in the northern region of Lydia, within the Roman province of Asia, along the Lycus River. It was situated so close to the borders of Mysia that some early authors considered it to be part of that region. The region was well-known for its purple dye (See Rev. 1:11; 2:18).

[16] (16:15). come into my house. Jews normally avoided staying at the homes of non-Jews.

[17] (16:26). earthquake. Earthquakes are common in this region. However this earthquake was ordained by God to free Paul and Silas from the prison.

[17] He was about to fall on his sword and kill himself because his life depended upon the security of the jail and his superiors would have put him to death if any of the prisoners escaped from the prison. 

[18] (16:30). what must I do to be saved?. The most important question a person can ask. The jailer asked Paul and Silas about the way of salvation.

[19] (16:37). Romans. Paul was born a citizen of Rome which gave him many rights. This included a public hearing and to be free from scourging. Paul’s rights as a Roman citizen were violated as he was beaten without a full hearing.