We don’t give up when we are beaten or put in prison. When people stir up trouble in the streets, we continue to serve God. We work hard for him. We go without sleep and food.

鞭打、监禁、扰乱、勤劳、警醒、不食、

鞭打、监禁、动乱、劳碌、失眠、饥饿、

鞭打、监禁、动乱、劳碌、失眠、饥饿、

鞭打、囚禁、暴乱、辛劳、无眠或饥饿，我们都坚忍到底，

鞭打、监禁、扰乱、劳苦、不睡觉、禁食、

在鞭打、监禁、混乱中，在劳苦、失眠、饥饿中，

鞭打、監禁、擾亂、勤勞、警醒、不食、

鞭打、監禁、動亂、勞碌、失眠、飢餓、

鞭打、監禁、動亂、勞碌、失眠、飢餓、

鞭打、囚禁、暴亂、辛勞、無眠或饑餓，我們都堅忍到底，

鞭打、監禁、擾亂、勞苦、不睡覺、禁食、

在鞭打監禁擾亂中、在勞苦失眠絕糧中、

在鞭打、監禁、混亂中，在勞苦、失眠、飢餓中，

受杖、繫獄、遭亂、勤勞、不寢、不食、

受杖、繫獄、遭亂、勤勞、不寢、乏食、

困苦、撲責、監獄、擾亂、勤勞、乏睡、乏食、

受撻也、監禁也、遘亂也、操作也、守夜也、齋戒也、

in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;

beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;

We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food.

by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger,

in beatings, in imprisonments, in mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,

in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;

in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;

by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger,

In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in troubles, in sleepless nights, in hunger,

in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;

Are they serving Christ? I am serving him even more. I’m out of my mind to talk like this! I have worked much harder. I have been in prison more often. I have suffered terrible beatings. Again and again I almost died.Five times the Jews gave me 39 strokes with a whip.Three times I was beaten with sticks. Once they tried to kill me by throwing stones at me. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

I have worked very hard. Often I have gone without sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty. Often I have gone without food. I have been cold and naked.

At that time many people became very upset about the Way of Jesus.There was a man named Demetrius who made things out of silver. He made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. He brought in a lot of business for the other skilled workers there.One day he called them together. He also called others who were in the same kind of business.“ My friends,” he said,“ you know that we make good money from our work.You have seen and heard what this fellow Paul is doing. He has talked to large numbers of people here in Ephesus. Almost everywhere in Asia Minor he has led people away from our gods. He says that the gods made by human hands are not gods at all.Our work is in danger of losing its good name. People’s faith in the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be weakened. Now she is worshiped all over Asia Minor and the whole world. But soon she will be robbed of her greatness.”When they heard this, they became very angry. They began shouting,“ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”Soon people were making trouble in the whole city. They all rushed into the theater. They dragged Gaius and Aristarchus along with them. These two men had come with Paul from Macedonia.Paul wanted to appear in front of the crowd. But the believers wouldn’t let him.Some of the officials in Asia Minor were friends of Paul. They sent him a message, begging him not to go into the theater.The crowd didn’t know what was going on. Some were shouting one thing and some another. Most of the people didn’t even know why they were there.The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front. They tried to tell him what to say. But he motioned for them to be quiet. He was about to give the people reasons for his actions.But then they realized that he was a Jew. So they all shouted the same thing for about two hours.“ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” they yelled.

But other Jews were jealous. So they rounded up some evil people from the market place. Forming a crowd, they started all kinds of trouble in the city. The Jews rushed to Jason’s house. They were looking for Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out to the crowd.

I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set free. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you.

Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. You will be treated badly for ten days. Be faithful, even if it means you must die. Then I will give you life as your crown of victory.

I am suffering for it. I have even been put in chains like someone who has committed a crime. But God’s word is not held back by chains.

They were angry with him. So they had him beaten. Then they took him to the house of Jonathan the secretary. It had been made into a prison. That’s where they put Jeremiah.Jeremiah was put into a prison cell below ground level. He remained there a long time.

Trust in your leaders. Put yourselves under their authority. Do this, because they keep watch over you. They know they are accountable to God for everything they do. Do this, so that their work will be a joy. If you make their work a heavy load, it won’t do you any good.

The people arguing were getting out of control. The commanding officer was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. So he ordered the soldiers to go down and take him away from them by force. The officer had told them to bring Paul into the fort.

When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself. But a soldier guarded him.Three days later Paul called a meeting of the local Jewish leaders. When they came, Paul spoke to them. He said,“ My brothers, I have done nothing against our people. I have also done nothing against what our people of long ago practiced. But I was arrested in Jerusalem. I was handed over to the Romans.

That’s just what I was doing in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison. I agreed that they should die.

They were whipped without mercy. Then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.When he received these orders, he put Paul and Silas deep inside the prison. He fastened their feet so they couldn’t get away.

One thing has become clear. I am being held by chains because I am a witness for Christ. All the palace guards and everyone else know it.

After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in prison. Peter was placed under guard. He was watched by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put Peter on public trial. It would take place after the Passover Feast.So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed hard to God for him.

So they arrested them and put them in the public jail.

The seven days of cleansing were almost over. Some Jews from Asia Minor saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and grabbed Paul.“ Fellow Israelites, help us!” they shouted.“ This is the man who teaches everyone in all places against our people. He speaks against our law and against this holy place. Besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple. He has made this holy place‘ unclean.’ ”They said this because they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul. They thought Paul had brought him into the temple.The whole city was stirred up. People came running from all directions. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Right away the temple gates were shut.The people were trying to kill Paul. But news reached the commander of the Roman troops. He heard that people were making trouble in the whole city of Jerusalem.Right away he took some officers and soldiers with him. They ran down to the crowd. The people causing the trouble saw the commander and his soldiers. So they stopped beating Paul.The commander came up and arrested Paul. He ordered him to be held with two chains. Then he asked who Paul was and what he had done.Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another. But the commander couldn’t get the facts because of all the noise. So he ordered that Paul be taken into the fort.Paul reached the steps. But then the mob became so wild that he had to be carried by the soldiers.

Asa was angry with the prophet because of what he had said. In fact, he was so angry he put him in prison. At the same time, Asa treated some of his own people very badly.

You shouldn’t stop giving yourselves to each other. You might possibly do this when you both agree to it. And you should only agree to it to give yourselves time to pray. Then you should come together again. In that way, Satan will not tempt you when you can’t control yourselves.

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. They won the crowd over to their side. They threw stones at Paul. They thought he was dead, so they dragged him out of the city.

So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning you. Night and day I warned each of you with tears.

For two whole years Paul stayed there in a house he rented. He welcomed all who came to see him.

Brothers and sisters, I am sure you remember how hard we worked. We labored night and day while we preached to you God’s good news. We didn’t want to cause you any expense.

They shouted and threw off their coats. They threw dust into the air.So the commanding officer ordered that Paul be taken into the fort. He gave orders for Paul to be whipped and questioned. He wanted to find out why the people were shouting at him like this.

Herod had arrested John. He had tied him up and put him in prison because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip.

Herod had John’s head cut off in the prison.

But the judge must not give the guilty person more than 40 strokes. If more than that are used, you will have disrespected your Israelite neighbor.

I, Paul, am a prisoner because of Christ Jesus. I am in prison because of my work among you who are Gentiles.

It’s like a man going away. He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge. Each one is given a task to do. He tells the one at the door to keep watch.“ So keep watch! You do not know when the owner of the house will come back. It may be in the evening or at midnight. It may be when the rooster crows or at dawn.He may come suddenly. So do not let him find you sleeping.What I say to you, I say to everyone.‘ Watch!’ ”

Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the hard times we had in Asia Minor. We were having a lot of trouble. It was far more than we could stand. We even thought we were going to die.In fact, we felt as if we were under the sentence of death. But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life.God has saved us from deadly dangers. And he will continue to do it. We have put our hope in him. He will continue to save us.

But I want you to keep your head no matter what happens. Don’t give up when times are hard. Work to spread the good news. Do everything God has given you to do.

Jeremiah was still being held as a prisoner. He was kept in the courtyard of the guard. Then another message from the Lord came to him. The Lord said,

Paul replied,“ I don’t care if it takes a short time or a long time. I pray to God for you and all who are listening to me today. I pray that you may become like me, except for these chains.”

Tell him,‘ The king says,“ Put this fellow in prison. Don’t give him anything but bread and water until I return safely.” ’ ”

But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And his grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me.

So they took Jeremiah and put him into an empty well. It belonged to Malkijah. He was a member of the royal court. His well was in the courtyard of the guard. Zedekiah’s men lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the well. It didn’t have any water in it. All it had was mud. And Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

But the servant was pierced because we had sinned. He was crushed because we had done what was evil. He was punished to make us whole again. His wounds have healed us.

Some were made fun of and even whipped. Some were held by chains. Some were put in prison.

At that time Gallio was governor of Achaia. The Jews of Corinth got together and attacked Paul. They brought him into court.They made a charge against Paul. They said,“ This man is talking people into worshiping God in wrong ways. Those ways are against the law.”Paul was about to give reasons for his actions. But just then Gallio spoke to them. He said,“ You Jews don’t claim that Paul has committed a great or small crime. If you did, it would make sense for me to listen to you.But this is about your own law. It is a question of words and names. Settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.”So he made them leave.Then the crowd there turned against Sosthenes, the synagogue leader. They beat him up in front of the governor. But Gallio didn’t care at all.

Up to this very hour we are hungry and thirsty. We are dressed in rags. We are being treated badly. We have no homes.

The prophets and teachers fasted and prayed. They placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul. Then they sent them off.

So don’t be ashamed of the message about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, his prisoner. Instead, join with me as I suffer for the good news. God’s power will help us do that.

Jesus answered,“ How can the guests of the groom be sad while he is with them? The time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. Then they will fast.

So he said,“ I will hear your case when those bringing charges against you get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

This is why we work and try so hard. It’s because we have put our hope in the living God. He is the Savior of all people. Most of all, he is the Savior of those who believe.

The Lord said,“ Son of man, I have appointed you as a prophet to warn the people of Israel. So listen to my message. Give them a warning from me.

Two years passed. Porcius Festus took the place of Felix. But Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor. So he left Paul in prison.

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church. The elders had trusted in the Lord. Paul and Barnabas prayed and fasted. They placed the elders in the Lord’s care.