t, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
and while the prisoners were listening to them, there was suddenly such
a great earthquake that the very foundations of the prison were shaken.
Immediately all the doors were opened and the chains that bound all the
prisoners were loosened.

When the jailer suddenly awoke and saw the prison doors wide open, he
drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had
escaped. But Paul shouted, "Do no harm to yourself, for we are all
here!" So calling for lights, the jailer rushed in, and trembling with
fear, fell down before Paul and Silas. Then bringing them out of the
prison he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered,
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be
saved." So Paul and Silas preached the word of the Lord to him and to
all his family. Then the jailer took them at that very hour of the night
and washed their wounds, and he and all his family were at once
baptized. He then brought them to his house and gave them food to eat,
and greatly rejoiced with all his family that they had come to believe
in God.

The next morning the city officials sent the police with the order,
"Release these men." So the jailer told Paul, "The police have brought
an order to have you released; now you may come out and go in peace."
But Paul answered, "They have beaten us publicly without trial, although
we are Roman citizens, and they put us in prison! Now they are going to
send us out secretly! No, indeed. Let them come here themselves and take
us out."

The police reported this to the military rulers, who, when they heard
that they were Roman citizens, were afraid and came to make peace with
them, and when they had brought them out of prison, they begged them to
leave the city. So Paul and Silas left the prison, and went to Lydia's
house; and after they had seen the brothers and encouraged them, they
left the city.

After they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to
Thessalonica, where the Jews had a synagogue. As usual, Paul went in,
and for three weeks he argued with them, to prove to them from the
scriptures that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and
Paul said that "this Jesus I proclaim to you is the Christ." Some of the
Jews and a large number of God-fearing Greeks and many of the leading
women believed and threw in their lot with Paul and Silas.

But the Jews were jealous