Acts 8
8
1 Now in those days, there occurred a great persecution against the Church at Jerusalem. And they were all dispersed throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles.
2 But God-fearing men arranged for Stephen's funeral, and they made a great mourning over him.
3 Then Saul was laying waste to the Church by entering throughout the houses, and dragging away men and women, and committing them to prison.
4 Therefore, those who had been dispersed were traveling around, evangelizing the Word of God.
5 Now Philip, descending to a city of Samaria, was preaching Christ to them.
6 And the crowd was listening intently and with one accord to those things which were being said by Philip, and they were watching the signs which he was accomplishing.
7 For many of them had unclean spirits, and, crying out with a loud voice, these departed from them.
8 And many of the paralytics and the lame were cured.
9 Therefore, there was great gladness in that city. Now there was a certain man named Simon, who formerly had been a magician in that city, seducing the people of Samaria, claiming himself to be someone great.
10 And to all those who would listen, from the least even to the greatest, he was saying: "Here is the power of God, which is called great."
11 And they were attentive to him because, for a long time, he had deluded them with his magic.
12 Yet truly, once they had believed Philip, who was evangelizing the kingdom of God, both men and women were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
13 Then Simon himself also believed and, when he had been baptized, he adhered to Philip. And now, seeing also the greatest signs and miracles being wrought, he was amazed and stupefied.
14 Now when the Apostles who were in Jerusalem had heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
15 And when they had arrived, they prayed for them, so that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16 For he had not yet come to any among them, since they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 But when Simon had seen that, by the imposition of the hands of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
19 saying, "Give this power to me also, so that on whomever I will lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him:
20 "Let your money be with you in perdition, for you have supposed that a gift of God might be possessed by money.
21 There is no part or place for you in this matter. For your heart is not upright in the sight of God.
22 And so, repent from this, your wickedness, and beg God, so that perhaps this plan of your heart might be forgiven you.
23 For I perceive you to be in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity."
24 Then Simon responded by saying, "Pray for me to the Lord, so that nothing of what you have said may happen to me."
25 And indeed, after testifying and speaking the Word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, and they evangelized the many regions of the Samaritans.
26 Now an Angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Rise up and go toward the south, to the way which descends from Jerusalem into Gaza, where there is a desert."
27 And rising up, he went. And behold, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, powerful under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasures, had arrived in Jerusalem to worship.
28 And while returning, he was sitting upon his chariot and reading from the prophet Isaiah.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Draw near and join yourself to this chariot."
30 And Philip, hurrying, heard him reading from the prophet Isaiah, and he said, "Do you think that you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "But how can I, unless someone will have revealed it to me?" And he asked Philip to climb up and sit with him.
32 Now the place in Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter. And like a lamb silent before his shearer, so he opened not his mouth.
33 He endured his judgment with humility. Who of his generation shall describe how his life was taken away from the earth?"
34 Then the eunuch responded to Philip, saying: "I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?"
35 Then Philip, opening his mouth and beginning from this Scripture, evangelized Jesus to him.
36 And while they were going along the way, they arrived at a certain water source. And the eunuch said: "There is water. What would prevent me from being baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe from your whole heart, it is permitted." And he responded by saying, "I believe the Son of God to be Jesus the Christ."
38 And he ordered the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch descended into the water. And he baptized him.
39 And when they had ascended from the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him anymore. Then he went on his way, rejoicing.
40 Now Philip was found in Azotus. And continuing on, he evangelized all the cities, until he arrived in Caesarea.
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Acts 8: CPDV
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Acts of the Apostles 8
8
1Saul was in full agreement with Stephen’s murder.
The church scatters
At that time, the church in Jerusalem began to be subjected to vicious harassment. Everyone except the apostles was scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2Some pious men buried Stephen and deeply grieved over him. 3Saul began to wreak havoc against the church. Entering one house after another, he would drag off both men and women and throw them into prison.
Philip in Samaria
4Those who had been scattered moved on, preaching the good news along the way. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria#8.5 Or the city of Samaria and began to preach Christ to them. 6The crowds were united by what they heard Philip say and the signs they saw him perform, and they gave him their undivided attention. 7With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many people, and many who were paralyzed or crippled were healed. 8There was great rejoicing in that city.
9Before Philip’s arrival, a certain man named Simon had practiced sorcery in that city and baffled the people of Samaria. He claimed to be a great person. 10Everyone, from the least to the greatest, gave him their undivided attention and referred to him as “the power of God called Great.” 11He had their attention because he had baffled them with sorcery for a long time. 12After they came to believe Philip, who preached the good news about God’s kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13Even Simon himself came to believe and was baptized. Afterward, he became one of Philip’s supporters. As he saw firsthand the signs and great miracles that were happening, he was astonished.
14When word reached the apostles in Jerusalem that Samaria had accepted God’s word, they commissioned Peter and John to go to Samaria. 15Peter and John went down to Samaria where they prayed that the new believers would receive the Holy Spirit. (16This was because the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17So Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon perceived that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. 19He said, “Give me this authority too so that anyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter responded, “May your money be condemned to hell along with you because you believed you could buy God’s gift with money! 21You can have no part or share in God’s word because your heart isn’t right with God. 22Therefore, change your heart and life! Turn from your wickedness! Plead with the Lord in the hope that your wicked intent can be forgiven, 23for I see that your bitterness has poisoned you and evil has you in chains.”
24Simon replied, “All of you, please, plead to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said will happen to me!” 25After the apostles had testified and proclaimed the Lord’s word, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the good news to many Samaritan villages along the way.
Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch
26An angel from the Lord spoke to Philip, “At noon, take#8.26 Or travel south along the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27So he did. Meanwhile, an Ethiopian man was on his way home from Jerusalem, where he had come to worship. He was a eunuch and an official responsible for the entire treasury of Candace. (Candace is the title given to the Ethiopian queen.) 28He was reading the prophet Isaiah while sitting in his carriage. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Approach this carriage and stay with it.”
30Running up to the carriage, Philip heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?”
31The man replied, “Without someone to guide me, how could I?” Then he invited Philip to climb up and sit with him. 32This was the passage of scripture he was reading:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter”
“and like a lamb before its shearer is silent”
“so he didn’t open his mouth.”
33“In his humiliation justice was taken away from him.”
“Who can tell the story of his descendants”
“because his life was taken from the earth?”#8.33 Isa 53:7-8
34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? Is he talking about himself or someone else?” 35Starting with that passage, Philip proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 36As they went down the road, they came to some water.
The eunuch said, “Look! Water! What would keep me from being baptized?”#8.36 Critical editions of the Gk New Testament do not include 8:37 Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you can be.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son.” 38He ordered that the carriage halt. Both Philip and the eunuch went down to the water, where Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Lord’s Spirit suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40Philip found himself in Azotus. He traveled through that area, preaching the good news in all the cities until he reached Caesarea.
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