12. Then we went by land to Philippi, the leading city in that part of Macedonia. It is also a Roman colony. We stayed there for several days.
13. On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the river. There we thought we would find a special place for prayer. Some women had gathered there, so we sat down and talked with them.
14. There was a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira. Her job was selling purple cloth. She worshiped the true God. The Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying.
15. She and all the people in her house were baptized. Then Lydia invited us to her home. She said, “If you think I am truly a believer in the Lord, then come stay in my house.” And she persuaded us to stay with her.
16. Once, while we were going to the place for prayer, a servant girl met us. She had a special spirit in her. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.
17. This girl followed Paul and us. She said loudly, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how you can be saved!”
18. She kept this up for many days. This bothered Paul, so he turned and said to the spirit, “By the power of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!” Immediately, the spirit came out.
19. The owners of the servant girl saw this. These men knew that now they could not use her to make money. So they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the city rulers in the marketplace.
20. Here they brought Paul and Silas to the Roman rulers and said, “These men are Jews and are making trouble in our city.
21. They are teaching things that are not right for us as Romans to do.”
22. The crowd joined the attack against them. The Roman officers tore the clothes of Paul and Silas and had them beaten with rods again and again.
23. After being severely beaten, Paul and Silas were thrown into jail. The jailer was ordered to guard them carefully.
24. When he heard this order, he put them far inside the jail. He pinned down their feet between large blocks of wood.
25. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God. The other prisoners were listening to them.
26. Suddenly, there was a big earthquake. It was so strong that it shook the foundation of the jail. Then all the doors of the jail broke open. All the prisoners were freed from their chains.
27. The jailer woke up and saw that the jail doors were open. He thought that the prisoners had already escaped. So he got his sword and was about to kill himself.