12. and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for some days.
13. On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began to speak to the women who had assembled there.
14. A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a God-fearing woman, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.
15. After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded us.
16. Now as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means. She brought her owners a great profit by fortune-telling.
17. She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”
18. She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once.
19. But when her owners saw their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.
20. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. They are Jews
21. and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.”
22. The crowd joined the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
23. After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely.
24. Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them.
26. Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose.
27. When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped.
28. But Paul called out loudly, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”