Summary
Paul and Silas set out from Derbe and Lystra with Timothy, circumcising him to please local Jews. They travel through Phrygia, Galatia, and Asia but are halted by the Holy Spirit and then move into Mysia, Bithynia, and Troas. In a vision, a Macedonian begs them to go to Macedonia, prompting a swift departure. In Philippi, they encounter Lydia, a purple‑dye merchant, who converts with her household. While praying and singing, they are seized by a slave woman possessed by a divining spirit; Paul commands it to depart, and the woman is freed. The Roman magistrates and the crowd beat and imprison them, but a sudden earthquake opens the prison. The jailer, fearing death, brings them to the magistrates, who release them after realizing they are Romans. Paul and Silas then preach to the jailer and his household, who are baptized, and the jailer hosts them at Lydia’s house. The episode ends with the magistrates allowing Paul and Silas to depart peacefully.