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
Simon the Wizard
1-2That set off a terrific persecution of the church in Jerusalem. The believers were all scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All, that is, but the apostles. Good and brave men buried Stephen, giving him a solemn funeral—not many dry eyes that day!
3-8And Saul just went wild, devastating the church, entering house after house after house, dragging men and women off to jail. Forced to leave home base, the followers of Jesus all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached the Message about Jesus. Going down to a Samaritan city, Philip proclaimed the Message of the Messiah. When the people heard what he had to say and saw the miracles, the clear signs of God’s action, they hung on his every word. Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day. The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way. And what joy in the city!
9-11Previous to Philip’s arrival, a certain Simon had practiced magic in the city, posing as a famous man and dazzling all the Samaritans with his wizardry. He had them all, from little children to old men, eating out of his hand. They all thought he had supernatural powers, and called him “the Great Wizard.” He had been around a long time and everyone was more or less in awe of him.
12-13But when Philip came to town announcing the news of God’s kingdom and proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ, they forgot Simon and were baptized, becoming believers right and left! Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. From that moment he was like Philip’s shadow, so fascinated with all the God-signs and miracles that he wouldn’t leave Philip’s side.
14-17When the apostles in Jerusalem received the report that Samaria had accepted God’s Message, they sent Peter and John down to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. Up to this point they had only been baptized in the name of the Master Jesus; the Holy Spirit hadn’t yet fallen on them. Then the apostles laid their hands on them and they did receive the Holy Spirit.
18-19When Simon saw that the apostles by merely laying on hands conferred the Spirit, he pulled out his money, excited, and said, “Sell me your secret! Show me how you did that! How much do you want? Name your price!”
20-23Peter said, “To hell with your money! And you along with it. Why, that’s unthinkable—trying to buy God’s gift! You’ll never be part of what God is doing by striking bargains and offering bribes. Change your ways—and now! Ask the Master to forgive you for trying to use God to make money. I can see this is an old habit with you; you reek with money-lust.”
24“Oh!” said Simon, “pray for me! Pray to the Master that nothing like that will ever happen to me!”
25And with that, the apostles were on their way, continuing to witness and spread the Message of God’s salvation, preaching in every Samaritan town they passed through on their return to Jerusalem.
The Ethiopian Eunuch
26-28Later God’s angel spoke to Philip: “At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
29-30The Spirit told Philip, “Climb into the chariot.” Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31-33He answered, “How can I without some help?” and invited Philip into the chariot with him. The passage he was reading was this:
As a sheep led to slaughter,
and quiet as a lamb being sheared,
He was silent, saying nothing.
He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial.
But who now can count his kin
since he’s been taken from the earth?
34-35The eunuch said, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?” Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.
36-39As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, “Here’s water. Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn’t mind. He had what he’d come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
40Philip showed up in Azotus and continued north, preaching the Message in all the villages along that route until he arrived at Caesarea.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.