₉That night Paul had a vision in which he saw a Macedonian standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ₁₀As soon as Paul had this vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, because we decided that God had called us to preach the Good News to the people there.

₁₁We left by ship from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis. ₁₂From there we went inland to Philippi, a city of the first district of Macedonia; it is also a Roman colony. We spent several days there. ₁₃On the Sabbath we went out of the city to the riverside, where we thought there would be a place where Jews gathered for prayer. We sat down and talked to the women who gathered there. ₁₄One of those who heard us was Lydia from Thyatira, who was a dealer in purple cloth. She was a woman who worshipped God, and the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying. ₁₅After she and the people of her house had been baptized, she invited us, “Come and stay in my house if you have decided that I am a true believer in the Lord.” And she persuaded us to go.