Section 16:16–40
Paul and Silas were put in jail
In this section, Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke were still in Philippi. Paul cast an evil spirit out of a slave girl. Her owners were angry and dragged Paul and Silas to the city leaders. The leaders ordered their officers to beat them and then put them in prison. The jailer locked them in a secure cell.
About midnight, an earthquake shook the prison. The chains of Paul, Silas, and all the other prisoners fell off and the doors opened. The jailer saw the open doors and was frightened, because the city leaders would punish him greatly for letting prisoners escape. So he decided to kill himself. Paul told him not to do that. Then he and Silas told him and his household about Jesus and they became believers.
The next morning the city leaders sent word that Paul and Silas could be released. But Paul and Silas sent word back that they were Roman citizens and what the leaders had done was illegal. They wanted the leaders to come and apologize. They did so. Then Paul and Silas left the jail and visited Lydia and the other believers in Philippi and then left town.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The Philippian leaders put Paul and Silas in jail
-or-
Paul and Silas cast a demon out of a girl and the city judges put them in jail
Paragraph 16:16–18
16:16a
One day: The Greek word can be translated literally as “It happened that.” It indicates that 16:16 occurred some time later, probably several weeks after 16:13–15. For example:
Once
the place of prayer: This is the same place beside the river (16:13).
16:16b
we were met by a slave girl: This clause is passive. The Greek clause is active. For example:
a slave-girl…met us (New American Standard Bible)
met: Paul and the others did not plan to meet her. The verse is not clear if the slave girl or the demon in her planned to meet Paul and the others.
a slave girl: The word slave indicates that the girl was owned by others. She served and obeyed her masters.
In some cultures, slaves are not known. In other cultures, the word for slave implies different customs than in biblical culture. If that is true in your language, some ways to translate this are:
a girl who belonged to others
-or-
a girl whom others owned
-or-
a girl under her masters/owners
16:16c
with a spirit: This phrase indicates that a spirit controlled the girl’s thoughts and actions. The spirit was an evil spirit or demon. Some ways to translate this are:
who had an evil spirit (Good News Translation)
-or-
controlled by an ⌊evil⌋ spirit
-or-
in whom an ⌊evil⌋ spirit lived
of divination: This evil spirit told the girl secret knowledge, including events that were going to happen in the future. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
that told fortunes (God’s Word)
-or-
of clairvoyance (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
16:16d
earned: The Greek tense probably indicates that she did this for some time and still did it for people when she met Paul. For example:
was bringing (New American Standard Bible)
fortune-telling: This refers to telling what would happen to someone. It can also refer to other things the person might want to know. Other ways to translate this word are:
revealing what would happen ⌊later⌋
-or-
foretelling the future (New Jerusalem Bible)
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