Acts 16:16-29

¹⁶Now it happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain slave girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought considerable profit to her owners by divination.

¹⁷Following Paul and Silas this girl kept calling out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to us the way of salvation!”

¹⁸She kept this up for many days! So Paul, becoming increasingly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out that very hour.

¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place to the rulers,

²⁰and bringing them before the magistrates they said, “These men, being Jews, are agitating our city,

²¹and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or do.”

²²The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off of them and ordered a beating with rods.

²³When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely;

²⁴who, having received such a charge, threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵Well about midnight Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God in prayer; and the other prisoners were listening to them.

²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake, enough to shake the foundations of the prison; immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.

²⁷But the jailer, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew sword, intending to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul shouted out, “Don't harm yourself, because we are all here!”

²⁹So calling for a light he ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.