¹² We then travelled across the land to Philippi, the most important city in the region of Macedonia. The Romans ruled Philippi and many Roman people lived there. We stayed there for a few days.

¹³ On the Jewish day of rest, we went out of the city gate. We went down to the edge of the river. We thought that the Jews might have a special meeting place there. We thought that they would meet there to pray. We found a group of women who were meeting there. So we sat down and we talked to them.^[a]

¹⁴ One of the women who listened to us was called Lydia. She was from the city of Thyatira. She bought and sold expensive dark red cloth. She was a Gentile woman who now worshipped God. The Lord helped her to understand Paul's message. So she believed the things that he said.