Acts 16:16 (DBY)

Passage

And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:14 And a certain woman, by name Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, heard; whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul.

Acts 16:15 And when she had been baptised and her house, 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 prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.

Acts 16:17 She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you [the] way of salvation.

Acts 16:18 And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned, and said to the spirit, I enjoin thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "came", "pass", "going", "prayer", "certain", "female", and "slave". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "came", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And when she had been baptised and..." into verse 17's "She having followed Paul and us cried...", so "Spirit" and "came" 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 "Spirit" and "came" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.