15 And when she had been baptised and her house, she besought [us], saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide [there]. And she constrained us.
16 And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.
17 She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you [the] way of salvation.
18 And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned, and said to the spirit, I enjoin thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour.
19 And her masters, seeing that the hope of their gains was gone, having seized Paul and Silas, dragged [them] into the market before the magistrates;
20 and having brought them up to the praetors, said, These men utterly trouble our city, being Jews,
21 and announce customs which it is not lawful for us to receive nor practise, being Romans.
22 And the crowd rose up too against them; and the praetors, having torn off their clothes, commanded to scourge [them].
23 And having laid many stripes upon them they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely;
24 who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison, and secured their feet to the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas, in praying, were praising God with singing, and the prisoners listened to them.
26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison shook, and all the doors were immediately opened, and the bonds of all loosed.
27 And the jailor being awakened out of his sleep, and seeing the doors of the prison opened, having drawn a sword was going to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had fled.
28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.
29 And having asked for lights, he rushed in, and, trembling, fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 And leading them out said, Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
32 And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, with all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed [them] from their stripes; and was baptised, he and all his straightway.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 16
Commentary on Acts 16 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 16
It is some rebuke to Barnabas that after he left Paul we hear no more of him, of what he did or suffered for Christ. But Paul, as he was recommended by the brethren to the grace of God, so his services for Christ after this are largely recorded; we are to attend him in this chapter from place to place, wherever he came doing good, either watering or planting, beginning new work or improving what was done. Here is,
Act 16:1-5
Paul was a spiritual father, and as such a one we have him here adopting Timothy, and taking care of the education of many others who had been begotten to Christ by his ministry: and in all he appears to have been a wise and tender father. Here is,
Act 16:6-15
In these verses we have,
Act 16:16-24
Paul and his companions, though they were for some time buried in obscurity at Philippi, yet now begin to be taken notice of.
Now,
Act 16:25-34
We have here the designs of the persecutors of Paul and Silas baffled and broken.
Act 16:35-40
In these verses we have,