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
1Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.
On that day widespread persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Most believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.
3Saul tried to destroy the church. He dragged men and women out of one home after another and threw them into prison.
Some Samaritans Become Believers
4The believers who were scattered went from place to place, where they spread the word. 5Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about the Messiah. 6The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said. They listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. 7Evil spirits screamed as they came out of the many people they had possessed. Many paralyzed and lame people were cured. 8As a result, that city was extremely happy.
9A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great. 10Everyone from children to adults paid attention to him. They said, “This man is the power of God, and that power is called great.” 11They paid attention to Simon because he had amazed them for a long time with his practice of magic. 12However, when Philip spread the Good News about God’s kingdom and the one named Jesus Christ, men and women believed him and were baptized. 13Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized, he became devoted to Philip. Simon was amazed to see the miracles and impressive things that were happening.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted God’s word, they sent Peter and John to them. 15Peter and John went to Samaria and prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. 16(Before this the Holy Spirit had not come to any of the Samaritans. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.
18Simon saw that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered Peter and John money 19and said, “Give me this power so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter told Simon, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy God’s gift. 21You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is. 22So change your wicked thoughts, and ask the Lord if he will forgive you for thinking like this. 23I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and wrapped up in your evil ways.”
24Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you said will happen to me.”
25After they had boldly spoken about the message of the Lord, they spread the Good News in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem.
Philip Tells an Ethiopian about Jesus
26An angel from the Lord said to Philip, “Get up, and take the desert road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So Philip went.
An Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship was on his way home. The man was a eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. 28As the official rode along in his carriage, he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.
29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that carriage, and stay close to it.”
30Philip ran to the carriage and could hear the official reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to sit with him in his carriage.
32This was the part of the Scriptures that the official was reading:
“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
He was like a sheep that is silent
when its wool is cut off.
He didn’t open his mouth.
33When he humbled himself,
he was not judged fairly.
Who from his generation
will talk about his life on earth being cut short?”
34The official said to Philip, “I would like to know who the prophet is talking about. Is he talking about himself or someone else?” 35Then Philip spoke. Starting with that passage, Philip told the official the Good News about Jesus.
36As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The official said to Philip, “Look, there’s some water. What can keep me from being baptized?” #8:36 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 37: “Philip said to the official, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you can be baptized.’ The official answered, ‘I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ ” 38The official ordered the carriage to stop. He and Philip stepped into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39When they had stepped out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official joyfully continued on his way and didn’t see Philip again.
40Philip found himself in the city of Azotus. He traveled through all the cities and spread the Good News until he came to the city of Caesarea.
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