Acts 16:14 (ASV)

Passage

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:12 and from thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a [Roman] colony: and we were in this city tarrying certain days.

Acts 16:13 And on the sabbath day we went forth without the gate by a river side, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down, and spake unto the women that were come together.

Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.

Acts 16:15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide [there]. And she constrained us.

Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer, that a certain maid having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "certain", "woman", "named", "lydia", "seller", "purple", "city", and "thyatira". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "certain" and "woman", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "And on the sabbath day we went..." into verse 15's "And when she was baptized and her...", so "certain" and "woman" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "certain" and "woman" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.