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So we took a ship from Troas and sailed straight to the island of Samothrace. The next day we sailed to the city of Neapolis,
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and from there we went to the city of Philippi. Philippi is a leading city in that part of Macedonia, and it is a Roman colony. We were in this city for a number of days.
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On the day of worship we went out of the city to a place along the river where we thought Jewish people gathered for prayer. We sat down and began talking to the women who had gathered there.
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A woman named Lydia was present. She was a convert to Judaism from the city of Thyatira and sold purple dye for a living. She was listening because the Lord made her willing to pay attention to what Paul said.
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When Lydia and her family were baptized, she invited us to stay at her home. She said, "If you're convinced that I believe in the Lord, then stay at my home." She insisted. So we did.
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One day when we were going to the place of prayer, a female servant met us. She was possessed by an evil spirit that told fortunes. She made a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.
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She used to follow Paul and shout, "These men are servants of the Most High God. They're telling you how you can be saved."
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She kept doing this for many days. Paul became annoyed, turned to the evil spirit, and said, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" As Paul said this, the evil spirit left her.
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When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities in the public square.
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In front of the Roman officials, they said, "These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They're Jews,
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and they're advocating customs that we can't accept or practice as Roman citizens."