Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
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She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”
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She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
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When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
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They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar
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by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
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The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.
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After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
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When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.