Acts 8
8
1And Saul approved of their killing him.
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Philip in Samaria
4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
9Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
25After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian#8:27 That is, from the southern Nile region eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”#8:33 Isaiah 53:7,8 (see Septuagint)
34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37]#8:37 Some manuscripts include here Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Acts 8
8
1Saul approved of his killing. On that very day terrible persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except for the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2(Some faithful followers of God buried Stephen, with great mourning.) 3But Saul set about destroying the church, going from house to house, dragging both men and women off to prison.
4Those who had been scattered spread the word wherever they went. 5Philip went to the town of Samaria, and told them about the Messiah. 6When the crowds heard what Philip was saying and saw the miracles he did they all paid attention to what he was telling them. 7Many were freed from possession by evil spirits that screamed as they came out, and many who were lame or disabled were healed. 8The people who lived in the city were overjoyed.
9Now there was a man named Simon who lived in the city. He practiced sorcery. He claimed that he was someone very important, and had astounded the people of Samaria 10so they all paid attention to him. From the lowest to the highest in society they said, “This man is ‘God the Great Power.’” 11They were impressed by him because he had amazed them with his magic for so long.
12But when they believed in what Philip told them about the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon too believed and was baptized. He accompanied Philip, amazed at the miraculous signs and wonders he saw.
14When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to visit them. 15When they arrived they prayed for the converts in Samaria to receive the Holy Spirit. 16The Holy Spirit hadn't come to any of these converts yet—they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17The apostles placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands on people, he offered them money. 19“Give me this power, too,” he asked them, “so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20“May your money be destroyed together with you for thinking God's gift is something that can be bought!” Peter replied. 21“You're not part of any of this. None of this work belongs to you, because in God's eyes your attitude is totally wrong. 22Repent of your evil ways! Pray to the Lord and ask forgiveness for thinking like this. 23I can see that you are full of bitter envy, and chained down by your sin.”
24“Please pray for me, that nothing you've said may happen to me!” Simon replied.
25After they had given their testimony and shared the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, sharing the good news in many Samaritan villages along the way.
26An angel of the Lord told Philip, “Get ready and go south to the desert road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So Philip set out, and met an Ethiopian man, a eunuch who had a high position in the service of the Kandake,#8:27. Kandake is not the personal name of the Queen, but her title, like “Pharaoh.” Queen of Ethiopia. He was her chief treasurer. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship there, and 28was returning from his trip, sitting in his chariot. He was reading out loud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29The Spirit told Philip, “Go over close to the chariot.” 30So Philip ran over, and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah.
“Do you understand what you're reading?” Philip asked him.
31“How can I, unless someone explains it?” the man replied. He invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32The Scripture passage he was reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered. Like a lamb is silent in front of his shearer, he didn't say a word. 33He was humiliated and denied justice. No one can speak of his descendants, for his life came to an end.”#8:33. Literally, “his life was taken from the earth.” The quotation is from Isaiah 53:7-8.
34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, who is the prophet talking about? Is it himself, or someone else?” 35Philip started explaining, beginning from this Scripture, telling him about Jesus. 36As they continued on, they came to a stretch of water. The eunuch said, “Look, there's water here—why shouldn't I be baptized?” 37#8:37. This verse is not found in the earliest manuscripts. 38He ordered that the chariot be stopped. Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came out of the water the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again, but he continued on his way full of joy. Philip found himself at Azotus. 40He spread the good news in all the towns along the way until he arrived at Caesarea.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com