Paul and Silas in Prison
16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction and made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.
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As she followed Paul and us she cried out, "These men are the slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."
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And she did this for many days. But Paul was greatly aggravated, and turning to the spirit, said, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out right away.
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When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
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And bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews,
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and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice."
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Then the mob joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
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After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded.
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Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.