Acts 8
8
Acts 8
1¶ And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.
3As for Saul, he made havoc of the congregation; {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} entering into the houses and dragging out men and women, he committed them to prison.
4¶ But those that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word of the gospel.
5Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached the Christ unto them.
6And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the signs which he did.
7For many unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of those who were possessed with them, and many paralytics and that were lame were healed.
8And there was great joy in that city.
9But there was a certain man called Simon, who before this in the same city used magic arts and amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that he himself was some great one,
10to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This is the great virtue of God.
11And to him they had regard because for a long time he had amazed them with magic arts.
12But when they believed Philip preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13Then Simon himself believed also; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were being done.
14¶ Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John unto them,
15who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them; they were baptized only in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
19saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.
20But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22Repent therefore of this thy wickedness and pray God, if perhaps this thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
23For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the prison of iniquity.
24Then Simon answered and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
25And they, when they had testified and preached the word of God, returned to Jerusalem and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
26¶ And the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south unto the way that goes down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27Then he arose and went, and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28was returning and sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.
29Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to this chariot.
30And Philip ran there to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah and said, Dost thou understand what thou readest?
31And he said, How can I, except someone should guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him.
32The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth;
33in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom does the prophet speak this? of himself or of some other?
35Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him the gospel of Jesus.
36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what hinders me to be baptized?
37And Philip said, If thou dost believe with all thine heart, thou may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they went both down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, so that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.
40But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he preached the gospel in all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
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Acts 8: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Acts 8
8
1And Saul approved of his murder.
Saul Persecutes the Church
That very day the church in Jerusalem began to suffer cruel persecution. All the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the provinces of Judea and Samaria. 2Some devout men buried Stephen, mourning for him with loud cries.
3 #
Acts 22.4–5; 26.9–11 But Saul tried to destroy the church; going from house to house, he dragged out the believers, both men and women, and threw them into jail.
The Gospel is Preached in Samaria
4The believers who were scattered went everywhere, preaching the message. 5Philip went to the principal city#8.5 the principal city; some manuscripts have a city. in Samaria and preached the Messiah to the people there. 6The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said, as they listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. 7Evil spirits came out from many people with a loud cry, and many paralysed and lame people were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.
9A man named Simon lived there, who for some time had astounded the Samaritans with his magic. He claimed that he was someone great, 10and everyone in the city, from all classes of society, paid close attention to him. “He is that power of God known as ‘The Great Power’,” they said. 11They paid this attention to him because for such a long time he had astonished them with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip's message about the good news of the Kingdom of God and about Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself also believed; and after being baptized, he stayed close to Philip and was astounded when he saw the great wonders and miracles that were being performed.
14The apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had received the word of God, so they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for the believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16For the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18Simon saw that the Spirit had been given to the believers when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered money to Peter and John, 19and said, “Give this power to me too, so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20But Peter answered him, “May you and your money go to hell, for thinking that you can buy God's gift with money! 21You have no part or share in our work, because your heart is not right in God's sight. 22Repent, then, of this evil plan of yours, and pray to the Lord that he will forgive you for thinking such a thing as this. 23For I see that you are full of bitter envy and are a prisoner of sin.”
24Simon said to Peter and John, “Please pray to the Lord for me, so that none of these things you spoke of will happen to me.”
25After they had given their testimony and proclaimed the Lord's message, Peter and John went back to Jerusalem. On their way they preached the Good News in many villages of Samaria.
Philip and the Ethiopian Official
26An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ready and go south#8.26 south; or at midday. to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This road is not used nowadays.)#8.26 This road is not used nowadays; or This is the desert road. 27-28So Philip got ready and went. Now an Ethiopian eunuch, who was an important official in charge of the treasury of the queen of Ethiopia, was on his way home. He had been to Jerusalem to worship God and was going back home in his carriage. As he rode along, he was reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that carriage and stay close to it.” 30Philip ran over and heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. He asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31The official replied, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to climb up and sit in the carriage with him. 32#Is 53.7–8 (LXX)The passage of scripture which he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep that is taken to be slaughtered,
like a lamb that makes no sound when its wool is cut off,
he did not say a word.
33He was humiliated, and justice was denied him.
No one will be able to tell about his descendants,
because his life on earth has come to an end.”
34The official asked Philip, “Tell me, of whom is the prophet saying this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35Then Philip began to speak; starting from this passage of scripture, he told him the Good News about Jesus. 36As they travelled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water, and the official said, “Here is some water. What is to keep me from being baptized?”#8.36 Some manuscripts add verse 37: Philip said to him, “You may be baptized if you believe with all your heart.” “I do,” he answered; “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38The official ordered the carriage to stop, and both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The official did not see him again, but continued on his way, full of joy. 40Philip found himself in Azotus; he went on to Caesarea, and on the way he preached the Good News in every town.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.