Atos 16

¹ ThenPaul himself does not receive Timothy into the ministry without sufficient testimony, and permission of the brethren.came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was aPaul, in his second epistle to Timothy, commends the godliness of Timothy's mother and grandmother.Jewess, and believed; but his father [was] a Greek:

² Which wasBoth for his godliness and honesty.well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

³ Timothy is circumcised, not simply for any necessity, but in respect of the time only, in order to win the Jews.Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

⁴ Charity is to be observed in things indifferent so that regard is had both of the weak, and of the peace of the Church.And as they went through the cities, they delivered them theThese decrees which he spoke of in the former chapter.decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

⁵ And so were the Churches stablished in the faith, and encreased in number daily.

⁶ God appoints certain and determinate times to open and set forth his truth, so that both the election and the calling may proceed of grace.Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and wereHe does not show why they were forbidden, but only that they were forbidden, teaching us to obey and not to enquire.forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

⁷ Then came they to Mysia, and sought to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

⁸ Therefore they passed through Mysia, and came downe to Troas,

⁹ They are the ministers of the Gospel by whom he helps those who are likely to perish.And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

¹⁰ The Saints did not easily believe every vision.And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

¹¹ Then went we forth from Troas, and with a straight course came to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis,

¹² And from thence to Philippi, which is the chiefe citie in ye partes of Macedonia, & whose inhabitants came from Rome to dwell there, and we were in that citie abiding certaine dayes.

¹³ God begins his kingdom in Macedonia by the conversion of a woman, and so shows that there is no exception of persons in the Gospel.And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, whereWhere they customarily assembled themselves.prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted [thither].

¹⁴ The Lord opens the heart to hear the word which is preached.And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

¹⁵ An example of a godly housewife.And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought [us], saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide [there]. And she constrained us.

¹⁶ Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, and covets to enter by undermining, but Paul openly stops him, and casts him out.And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit ofThis is a sure sign of the god Apollo, who would give answers to those that asked him.divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

¹⁷ She followed Paul and vs, and cryed, saying, These men are the seruants of the most high God, which shewe vnto you the way of saluation.

¹⁸ And this did shePaul made no haste to do this miracle, for he did all things only as he was led by the Spirit.many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

¹⁹ Covetousness of evil gain and of profit is an occasion for persecuting the truth. In the meanwhile, God sparing Timothy, calls Paul and Silas as the stronger to battle.And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew [them] into the marketplace unto the rulers,

²⁰ Covetousness pretends a desire for common peace and godliness.And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

²¹ It is an argument of the devil to use the authority of ancestors, though not distinguishing exactly which ancestors.And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

²² An example of evil magistrates, to obey the fury and rage of the people.And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat [them].

²³ And when they had beaten them sore, they cast them into prison, commaunding the Iayler to keepe them surely.

²⁴ Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feetBecause he wanted to be more sure that they did not escape, he set them fast in the stocks.fast in the stocks.

²⁵ The prayers of the godly do shake both heaven and earth.And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison was shaken: and by and by all the doores opened, and euery mans bands were loosed.

²⁷ The merciful Lord, as often as he desires, draws men to life even through the midst of death, and whereas they justly deserved great punishment, he shows them great mercy.And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

²⁸ In means which are especially extraordinary, we should not move our foot forward, unless God goes before us.But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

²⁹ Then he called for a light, and leaped in, and came trembling, and fell downe before Paul and Silas,

³⁰ And brought them out, and said, Syrs, what must I doe to be saued?

³¹ And they saide, Beleeue in the Lorde Iesus Christ, and thou shalt be saued, & thine houshold.

³² And they preached vnto him the worde of the Lord, and to all that were in the house.

³³ God with the very same hand wounds and heals when it pleases him.And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed [their] stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set meate before them, and reioyced that he with all his houshold beleeued in God.

³⁵ Shame and confusion is in due time the reward of wicked and unjust magistrates.And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.

³⁶ Then the keeper of the prison tolde these woordes vnto Paul, saying, The gouerness haue sent to loose you: nowe therefore get you hence, and goe in peace.

³⁷ We must not render injury for injury, and yet nonetheless it is lawful for us to use such helps as God gives us, to bridle the outrageousness of the wicked, so that they do not hurt others in a similar way.But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast [us] into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

³⁸ The wicked are not moved with the fear of God, but with the fear of men: and by that means also God provides for his, when it is needed.And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.

³⁹ Then came they and praied them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the citie.

⁴⁰ We may avoid dangers in such a way that we never neglect our duty.And they went out of the prison, and entered into [the house of] Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.