ƐYI 16

“Le Yɛ Wā Umasɛdónīya”

GBƆƆ

Blessings result from accepting an assignment and meeting persecution with joy

Ŋma Ɔkpá Ku Úklɔ́ Kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 16:6-40

1-3. (a) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ alelekwu ihɔ ma ɔwɛ fu lɛ Upɔlu mla ācɛ nōo yɛ mla ɔ a? (b) Ɔdi nɛ alɔ gáā leyi yɛ ɔ a?

Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

² Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

³ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

“Ɔwɔicō Hī Alɔ Igwú” (Úklɔ́ kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 16:6-15)

4, 5. (a) Ɔdi ya da Upɔlu mla ācɛ nōo yɛ mla ɔ a eko néē le ba lɛ Ubitiniya? (b) Ɔdi nɛ ayikpo a miya ō ya a, ɔdi kē bɛɛcɛ ŋma anu a?

⁴ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

⁵ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

“So we put out to sea from Troas.”—Acts 16:11

6, 7. (a) Ɔdi nɛ alɔ lɔfu nwu ŋma ɔdā nōo ya eko nɛ Upɔlu yɔ i gā iyawu ku nu a? (b) Ɔdiya ɛɛ nɛ ɔdā nɛ Upɔlu má a gē ta alɔ ɔtu kwu ɔtu a?

⁶ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

⁷ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

8. (a) Kɛla lɛyikwu ɛgɛ nɛ igeli ku Ufilipayi lɛ a. (b) Ɔdā olɔhi nyá ya abɔ Upɔlu nyɔ gáā tɔɔna “ɛga ogbɔ̄ɔkɔ ā”?

⁸ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

9. Ɛgɛnyá nɛ ācɛ alɛwa icɛ yɛce ocabɔ ku Upɔlu a, ɔdā olɔhi nyá kē bɛɛcɛ ŋma anu a?

⁹ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

How can we “step over into Macedonia” today?

“Anɔ́ɔ Ɛwa Ā Le Cētū Ipú Uwā Gbɔɔ́ Ō Ŋmó Uwā Ijē” (Úklɔ́ kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 16:16-24)

10. Ɔdi nɛ alelekwu obɔbi ya o ya ɛɛ ku ācɛ a kéē hii cɛ mla Upɔlu mɛmla ācɛ nōo yɛ mla ɔ a ŋ ma?

¹⁰ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

11. Igbihi nɛ alelekwu obɔbi a nyɛɛ ŋma iyē ku ɔyipɛ ɔcɛnya a, ɔdi ya Upɔlu mla Usayilasi a?

¹¹ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

12. (a) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ ayikpo ku Ukraist gē má ō ya ŋmo a, ɔdi kē ya a? (b) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ Usetan mla ācɛ nōo yɔ ɛhaajɛ nu a gē bɛyikwu ayikpo ku Ukraist icɛ a?

¹² Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

“Ubatísim . . . Ikpííkpó Ɔ́ɔmā” (Úklɔ́ kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 16:25-34)

13. Ɔdiya nɛ ɔcɛ ō gbo alagba da ɔ̄kā kahinii: “Ɔdí nɛ̄ n géē yá ɛ́ɛ́ kéē lɛ um nyatá ā?”

¹³ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

14. (a) Otabɔ nyá nɛ Upɔlu mla Usayilasi je lɛ ɔcɛ ō gbo alagba a? (b) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ Ujehofa hɔha ce Upɔlu mla Usayilasi ohigbu ka é lé ɔtu ō ya ŋmo mla eeye a?

¹⁴ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

15. (a) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ Ācɛ Ocijali alɛwa icɛ gē yɛce ocabɔ ku Upɔlu mla Usayilasi a? (b) Ɔdiya nɛ alɔ cika ō yɔ i cigbihi nyɔ gáā má ācɛ nōo lā ɔwɛ ɛga nɛ alɔ gē tɔɔna a?

¹⁵ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

“Abālɔbányā É Tínē Kéē Kpó Alɔ Bɛ̄cɛ Wɛɛlɛ Ɛkwūbá?” (Úklɔ́ kú Ācotɛ̄hɔ̄ 16:35-40)

16. Ɔdi ya igbihi néē lɛ Upɔlu mla Usayilasi gɔ a?

¹⁶ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

17. Ohigbu ku Upɔlu mla Ubanabasi lé ɔtu ipu ō ya ŋmo a, ɛlā ō cɛgbá nyá nɛ ayikpo ɛyipɛ a nwu a?

¹⁷ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

18. (a) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ Ācɛ O Yɛce Ukraist nōo gē ma ɔwɛ fu icɛ a gē yɛce ocabɔ ku Upɔlu a? (b) Ɛgɛnyá nɛ alɔ géē ya “kú ācɛ kéē mīyɛ ɛlā kú ɔ̄kōolɔhi ā cɛ̄ kpɔ́cíí” ɛpleeko ku alɔ a?

¹⁸ Jé Ipu Uce Ku Oyibo

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.

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