Acts 16:16-24 - Paul And Silas Imprisoned

16 Once, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of fortune-telling and who had brought her owners a great deal of money by predicting the future. 17 She would follow Paul and us and shout, "These men are servants of the Most High God and are proclaiming to you a way of salvation!" 18 She kept doing this for many days until Paul became annoyed, turned to her and told the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus the Messiah to come out of her!" And it came out that very moment.

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities who met together in the public square. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that we're not allowed to accept or practice as Romans."

22 The crowd joined in the attack against them. Then the magistrates had Paul and Silas stripped of their clothes and ordered them beaten with rods. 23 After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailer to keep them under tight security. 24 Having received these orders, he put them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in leg irons.


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