The Acts 8
8
1Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was a good thing.
Trouble for the Believers
2-3Some religious men buried Stephen. They cried very loudly for him. On that day people began trying to hurt the church in Jerusalem and make it suffer. Saul was also trying to destroy the church. He went from house to house. He dragged out men and women and put them in jail. All the believers, except the apostles, went to different places in Judea and Samaria. 4And everywhere the believers were scattered, they told people the Good News.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
5Philip# Not the apostle named Philip. went to the city# Some Greek copies read “a city.” of Samaria and preached about the Christ. 6The people there heard Philip and saw the miracles he was doing. They all listened carefully to the things he said. 7Many of these people had evil spirits in them. But Philip made the evil spirits leave them. The spirits made a loud noise when they came out. There were also many weak and crippled people there. Philip healed them, too. 8So the people in that city were very happy.
9But there was a man named Simon in that city. Before Philip came there, Simon had practiced magic. He amazed all the people of Samaria with his magic. He bragged and called himself a great man. 10All the people—the least important and the most important—paid attention to what Simon said. They said, “This man has the power of God, called ‘the Great Power’!” 11Simon had amazed them with his magic tricks so long that the people became his followers. 12But Philip told them the Good News about the kingdom of God and the power of Jesus Christ. Men and women believed Philip and were baptized. 13Simon himself believed and was baptized. He stayed very close to Philip. When he saw the miracles and the very powerful things that Philip did, Simon was amazed.
14The apostles were still in Jerusalem. They heard that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God. So they sent Peter and John to them. 15When Peter and John arrived, they prayed that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit. 16These people had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. But the Holy Spirit had not yet entered any of them. 17Then, when the two apostles began laying their hands on# Here, doing this showed that these men were given a special work of God. the people, they received the Holy Spirit.
18Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles laid their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money. 19He said, “Give me also this power so that when I lay my hands on a person, he will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter said to him, “You and your money should both be destroyed! You thought you could buy God’s gift with money. 21You cannot share with us in this work. Your heart is not right before God. 22Change your heart! Turn away from this evil thing you have done. Pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you for thinking this. 23I see that you are full of bitter jealousy and ruled by sin.”
24Simon answered, “Both of you pray for me to the Lord. Pray that the things you have said will not happen to me!”
25Then the two apostles told the people the things they had seen Jesus do. And after the apostles had given the message of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan towns and preached the Good News to the people.
Philip Teaches an Ethiopian
26An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip.# Not the apostle named Philip. The angel said, “Get ready and go south. Go to the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem—the desert road.” 27So Philip got ready and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia, a eunuch. He was an important officer in the service of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was responsible for taking care of all her money. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and 28now he was on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot and reading from the book of Isaiah, the prophet. 29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30So Philip ran toward the chariot. He heard the man reading from Isaiah, the prophet. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31He answered, “How can I understand? I need someone to explain it to me!” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32The verse of Scripture that he was reading was this:
“He was like a sheep being led to be killed.
He was quiet, as a sheep is quiet while its wool is being cut.
He said nothing.
33He was shamed and was treated unfairly.
He died without children to continue his family.
His life on earth has ended.” Isaiah 53:7-8
34The officer said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about? Is he talking about himself or about someone else?” 35Philip began to speak. He started with this same Scripture and told the man the Good News about Jesus.
36While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The officer said, “Look! Here is water! What is stopping me from being baptized?” 37[Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]# Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text. 38Then the officer commanded the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the officer 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 officer never saw him again. The officer continued on his way home, full of joy. 40But Philip appeared in a city called Azotus and preached the Good News in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea.
Currently Selected:
The Acts 8: ICB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Acts 8
8
1And Saul had agreed with the Sanhedrin that Stephen should die.
The Church Is Treated Badly and Scattered
On that day the church in Jerusalem began to be attacked and treated badly. All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly Jews buried Stephen. They mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. He went from house to house. He dragged away men and women and put them in prison.
Philip Goes to Samaria
4The believers who had been scattered preached the word everywhere they went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria. There he preached about the Messiah. 6The crowds listened to Philip and saw the signs he did. All of them paid close attention to what he said. 7Evil spirits screamed and came out of many people. Many people who were disabled or who couldn’t walk were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Evil Magician
9A man named Simon lived in the city. For quite a while he had practiced evil magic there. He amazed all the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great. 10And all the people listened to him, from the least important of them to the most important. They exclaimed, “It is right to call this man the Great Power of God!” 11He had amazed them for a long time with his evil magic. So they followed him. 12But Philip announced the good news of God’s kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ. So men and women believed and were baptized. 13Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip everywhere. He was amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14The apostles in Jerusalem heard that people in Samaria had accepted God’s word. So they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15When they arrived there, they prayed for the new believers. They prayed that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 16The Holy Spirit had not yet come 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 watched as the apostles placed their hands on them. He saw that the Spirit was given to them. So he offered money to Peter and John. 19He said, “Give me this power too. Then everyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter answered, “May your money be destroyed with you! Do you think you can buy God’s gift with money? 21You have no part or share in this holy work. Your heart is not right with God. 22Turn away from this evil sin of yours. Pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23I see that you are very bitter. You are a prisoner of sin.”
24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me. Pray that nothing you have said will happen to me.”
25Peter and John continued to preach the word of the Lord and tell people about Jesus. Then they returned to Jerusalem. On the way they preached the good news in many villages in Samaria.
Philip and the Man From Ethiopia
26An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. “Go south to the desert road,” he said. “It’s the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So Philip started out. On his way he met an Ethiopian official. The man had an important position in charge of all the wealth of the Kandake. Kandake means queen of Ethiopia. This official had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28On his way home he was sitting in his chariot. He was reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Holy Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot. Stay near it.”
30So Philip ran up to the chariot. He heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you’re reading?” Philip asked.
31“How can I?” he said. “I need someone to explain it to me.” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32Here is the part of Scripture the official was reading. It says,
“He was led like a sheep to be killed.
Just as lambs are silent while their wool is being cut off,
he did not open his mouth.
33When he was treated badly, he was refused a fair trial.
Who can say anything about his children?
His life was cut off from the earth.” (Isaiah 53:7,8)
34The official said to Philip, “Tell me, please. Who is the prophet talking about? Himself, or someone else?” 35Then Philip began with that same part of Scripture. He told him the good news about Jesus.
36-37As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look! Here is water! What can stop me from being baptized?” 38He gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down into the water. Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official did not see him again. He went on his way full of joy. 40Philip was seen next at Azotus. From there he traveled all around. He preached the good news in all the towns. Finally he arrived in Caesarea.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.