Paul and Silas Imprisoned
16 And it happened that [as] we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners [by] fortune-telling.
17
She followed Paul and us [and] was crying out, saying, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!"
18
And she was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed and turning around, said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out {immediately}.
19
But [when] her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas [and] dragged [them] into the marketplace before the rulers.
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 permitted for us to accept or to practice, [because we] are Romans!"
22
And the crowd joined in attacking them, and the chief magistrates tore off their clothing [and] gave orders to beat [them] with rods.
23
And [after they] had inflicted many blows on them, they threw [them] into prison, giving orders to the jailer to guard them securely.
24
Having received such an order, {he} put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.