¹² and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. And we were staying in this city for some days. ¹³ And on the day of the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate beside the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and^[a] spoke to the women assembled there. ¹⁴ And a certain woman named^[b] Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a merchant dealing in purple cloth who showed reverence for God, was listening. The Lord opened her^[c] heart to pay attention to what was being said by Paul. ¹⁵ And after she was baptized, and her household, she urged us,^[d] saying, “If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, come to my house and^[e] stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

⁴⁰ And when they^[a] came out of the prison, they went to Lydia and when they^[b] saw them,^[c] they encouraged the brothers and departed.

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons. ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

³ I give thanks to my God upon my every remembrance of you,^{[a] 4} always in my every prayer for all of you, making the prayer with joy, ⁵ because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ convinced of this same thing, that the one who began a good work in you will finish it^[b] until the day of Christ Jesus, ⁷ just as it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since^[c] both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you are sharers of grace with me. ⁸ For God is my witness, that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Prayer for Spiritual Maturity

⁹ And this I pray: that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is superior, in order that you may be sincere and blameless in^[d] the day of Christ,