World English Bible · Under Rome
Acts 16
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He came to and ; and behold, a certain was there, named , the son of a Jewess who , but his was a . The brothers who were at and gave a good about him. wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and him because of the who were in those parts, for they all knew that his was a . As they went on their way through the cities, they the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by and who were at . So the assemblies were strengthened in the , and increased in number daily. When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by to speak the word in . When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but didn't allow them. Passing by Mysia, they came down to . A appeared to in the night. There was a man of standing, begging him and saying, "Come over into and help us." When he had seen the , immediately we sought to go out to , concluding that had called us to preach the to them. Setting sail therefore from , we made a straight course to , and the day following to ; and from there to , which is a city of , the foremost of the district, a colony. We were staying some days in this city. On the we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of , and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. A certain woman named , a seller of purple, of the city of , one who , heard us. opened her to listen to the things which were spoken by . When she and her household were , she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be to , come into my house and stay." So she persuaded us. As we were going to , a certain girl having a of met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling. Following and us, she cried out, "These men are servants of , who proclaim to us a way of !" She was doing this for many days. But , becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to , "I command you in the name of to come out of her!" It came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that the of their gain was gone, they seized and and dragged them into the marketplace before the . When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men, being , are agitating our city and advocate customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being ." rose up together against them and the magistrates tore their clothes from them, then commanded them to be beaten with . When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Having received such a command, he threw them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. But about midnight and were praying and singing hymns to , and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were loosened. The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But cried with a loud voice, saying, "Don't harm yourself, for we are all here!" He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before and , brought them out, and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be ?" They said, " in , and you will be , you and your household." They spoke the word of to him, and to all who were in his house. He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and was immediately , he and all his household. He brought them up into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly with all his household, having in . But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, "Let those men go." The jailer reported these words to , saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace." But said to them, "They have beaten us publicly without a , men who are , and have cast us into prison! Do they now us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!" The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were , and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city. They went out of the prison and entered into house. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them, then departed.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.