Be Joyful

¹⁶Now 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. ¹⁷She 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.” ¹⁸She 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. ¹⁹But when her owners saw their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. ²⁰When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. They are Jews ²¹and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.”

²²The crowd joined the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ²³After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely. ²⁴Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly 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. ²⁷When 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. ²⁸But Paul called out loudly, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” ²⁹Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell down trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house. ³³At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized right away.