UHỌNMHỌN-ỌTA 16

“Vae Bhi Masẹdonia”

Ẹbho ne bunbun da miẹn erọnmhọn ranmhude, Pọl bi imọẹ ọle re eghọnghọn miẹn ẹsọn nan mun nin ele yẹ ziẹngbe ekpokpo nin ele miẹn

Acts 16:6-40 Ọ Da Dagbare

1-3. (a) Be elinmhin nọn khiale rẹ dia Pọl bi imọẹ ọle yẹ? (b) Emhin nela sunu nin mhan ha zilo nyan?

Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

² Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

³ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

“Osẹnobulua Tie Mhan” (Acts 16:6-15)

4, 5. (a) Be sunu ji Pọl bi imọẹ ọle ẹghe nin ele rẹ ha ribhi egbe-egbe agbaẹbho ọsi Bitinia? (b) Be ene edibo ki zẹ rẹ lu? Be ki nabhọre?

⁴ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

⁵ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

The apostle Paul and Timothy standing on a ship’s upper deck. Timothy points to something in the distance as the ship’s crew works. — “So we put out to sea from Troas.”—Acts 16:11

6, 7. (a) Be imhan miẹn luẹ bhi ebe sunu ji Pọl bhi okhian nin ọle khian? (b) Bezẹle nin ebe sunu ji Pọl da ha yi ikoudure rẹji mhan?

⁶ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

⁷ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

8. (a) Tẹmhọn ebe agbaẹbho ọsi Filipai diayẹ. (b) Be sunu ẹghe nin Pọl rẹ dọ tẹmhọn Osẹnobulua bhi eji a da nan erọnmhọn?

⁸ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

9. Be ẹbho ne bunbun ẹlẹnan rẹ ha re egbe khọkhọ Pọl yẹ? Elele nela nabhọre?

⁹ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

Two sisters preaching to a young woman on the street. A young man looks over to see what they are talking about. — How can we “step over into Macedonia” today?

“Ene Usun Ẹbho Da Hẹ Da Ele” (Acts 16:16-24)

10. Be ene ẹlinmhin ne imhẹn lu yẹ nin ẹbho da ha kpokpo Pọl bi imọẹ ọle?

¹⁰ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

11. Be ki sunu ji Pọl bi Sailas beji a ki khue ọne ẹlinmhin nọn imhẹn sibhi ọne ọmanmhẹn egbe re fo?

¹¹ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

12. (a) Ẹlo nela edibo nesi Kristi rẹ ghe ekpokpo? Bezẹle? (b) Be Esu bi ẹbho ne deba ọle rẹ kpokpo edibo nesi Jesu yẹ ẹlẹnan?

¹² Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

Ele “Da Mianmẹn, Ele Bha Ria Ẹghe A” (Acts 16:25-34)

13. Be re ọria nọn gbẹloghe ene onighan nọọn yọle: “Be imẹn ha lu nin mẹn da sabọ miẹn umiẹnfan?”

¹³ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

14. (a) Urẹkpa nela Pọl bi Sailas re nin ọria nọn gbẹloghe ene onighan? (b) Be Jehova rẹ nan erọnmhọn nin Pọl bi Sailas yẹ ranmhude nin ele rẹ ziẹngbe ekpokpo?

¹⁴ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

15. (a) Be Esali Jehova ne bunbun ẹlẹnan rẹ re egbe khọkho Pọl bi Sailas yẹ? (b) Bezẹle nọn da khẹke nin mhan ha fikie bu ẹbho nin mhan tẹmhọn Osẹnobulua man ne ribhi idunmhun nin mhan da tẹmhọn Osẹnobulua?

¹⁵ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

“Ejayenan, Ele Guanọ Nin Ele Fan Mhan Fia Bhi Ẹkhokho?” (Acts 16:35-40)

16. Be sunu bhi ọne ukpẹdẹ nan gbe Pọl bi Sailas asan?

¹⁶ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

17. Be ene edibo luẹ bhi uwedẹ nin Pọl bi Sailas rẹ ziẹngbe ekpokpo?

¹⁷ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

18. (a) Be ibhio mhan ne ribhi ihe bhi ẹkẹ agbotu ẹlẹnan rẹ re egbe khọkhọ ijiẹmhin nin Pọl re ọbhi otọ yẹ? (b) Emhin nela mhan lu ẹlẹnan nin mhan da ha mhọn ọne isẹhoa rẹ ha tẹmhọn Osẹnobulua?

¹⁸ Tie Ọne Uduọle Bhi Ebo

LUKE—THE WRITER OF ACTS

Up to chapter 16, verse 9, the book of Acts is narrated strictly in the third person. That is, the writer limits himself to reporting what others said and did. At Acts 16:10, 11, however, there is a change in that style. In verse 11, for instance, the writer says: “We put out to sea from Troas and made a straight run to Samothrace.” This is where Luke, the writer, joined the action. But since Luke’s name does not appear anywhere in Acts of Apostles, how do we know that he was, in fact, the writer?

The answer lies in the introductions to the book of Acts and Luke’s Gospel. Both introductions are addressed to a certain “Theophilus.” (Luke 1:1, 3; Acts 1:1) The opening words of Acts read: “The first account, O Theophilus, I composed about all the things Jesus started to do and to teach.” Since ancient authorities agree that “the first account,” the Gospel, was written by Luke, he must also have written Acts.

We do not know very much about Luke. His name appears only three times in the Bible. The apostle Paul calls Luke “the beloved physician” and one of his own “fellow workers.” (Col. 4:14; Philem. 24) The “we” sections of the book of Acts—those in which Luke includes himself in the narrative—indicate that Luke first accompanied the apostle Paul from Troas to Philippi in about 50 C.E. but that when Paul left Philippi, Luke was no longer with him. The two men met up again in Philippi in about 56 C.E. and traveled with seven other brothers from Philippi to Jerusalem, where Paul was arrested. Two years later, Luke accompanied Paul, who was still in chains, from Caesarea to Rome. (Acts 16:10-17, 40; 20:5–21:17; 24:27; 27:1–28:16) When Paul, who had been jailed for a second time in Rome, perceived that his execution was near, “only Luke” was with him. (2 Tim. 4:6, 11) It is clear that Luke traveled long distances and was willing to suffer hardships for the sake of the good news.

Luke did not claim to have witnessed what he wrote about Jesus. On the contrary, he said that he undertook “to compile an account of the facts” based on the accounts of “eyewitnesses.” Moreover, he “traced all things from the start with accuracy, to write them to you in logical order.” (Luke 1:1-3) The results of Luke’s labors show that he was a careful researcher. Perhaps he conducted interviews with Elizabeth, with Jesus’ mother, Mary, and with others in order to collect his material. Much of what he wrote is unique among the Gospel accounts.—Luke 1:5-80.

Paul stated that Luke was a physician, and a doctor’s interest in those who suffer can be perceived in what he wrote. Just to mention a few examples: Luke noted that when Jesus cured a demon-possessed man, “the demon came out of him without hurting him”; that the apostle Peter’s mother-in-law was distressed with “a high fever”; and that a woman whom Jesus helped had been afflicted with “a spirit of weakness for 18 years; and she was bent double and was unable to straighten up at all.”—Luke 4:35, 38; 13:11.

Clearly, Luke put “the work of the Lord” first in his life. (1 Cor. 15:58) His objective was, not to pursue a secular career or prominence, but simply to help others know and serve Jehovah.

LYDIA—THE SELLER OF PURPLE

Lydia lived in Philippi, a prominent city in Macedonia. She was originally from Thyatira, a city in the region called Lydia in western Asia Minor. To ply her trade as a seller of purple, Lydia had moved across the Aegean Sea. She likely traded in purple goods of various kinds—rugs, tapestries, fabrics, and even dyes. An inscription found in Philippi testifies to the presence of a guild of sellers of purple in that city.

Lydia is described as “a worshipper of God,” likely meaning that she was a proselyte to Judaism. (Acts 16:14) She may have become acquainted with the worship of Jehovah in her home city. In contrast with Philippi, it hosted a Jewish meeting place. Some believe that Lydia was a nickname—meaning “Lydian Woman”—given to her in Philippi. However, there is documentary evidence to show that Lydia was also in use as a proper name.

The Lydians and their neighbors were famed for their skill in the dyeing of purple since the days of Homer, in the ninth or eighth century B.C.E. Indeed, Thyatira’s water was reputed to produce “the brightest and the most permanent hues.”

Purple materials were luxury items, accessible only to the rich. Although different sources for purple dye were known, the best and most expensive—used for treating fine linen—came from Mediterranean shellfish. A single drop of dye could be extracted from each mollusk, and some 8,000 shellfish had to be processed to obtain just one gram of the precious liquid; thus, cloth of that color was very costly.

Since Lydia’s trade required substantial capital and she had a large house capable of hosting four men—Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke—in all likelihood she was a successful and wealthy merchant. The reference to her “household” could mean that she lived with relatives, but it may also imply that she had slaves and servants. (Acts 16:15) And the fact that before leaving the city, Paul and Silas met with some brothers in this hospitable woman’s home suggests that it became a meeting place for the first Christians in Philippi.—Acts 16:40.

When Paul wrote to the Philippian congregation some ten years later, he made no mention of Lydia. So the details contained in Acts chapter 16 are all we know about her.