Acts 16:16-24 ▼

16 Now it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a servant-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

18 And she continued doing this for many days. But being greatly annoyed, Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very moment.

19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit had left, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities,

20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

21 and are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

22 And the crowd joined together to attack them, and the chief magistrates, tearing their garments off of them, proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

23 And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely,

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