The Acts 8
8
1AND at that time there was raised a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all dispersed through the countries of Judea, and Samaria, except the apostles.
2And devout men took order for Stephen's funeral, and made great mourning over him.
3But Saul made havock of the church, entering in from house to house, and dragging away men and women, committed them to prison.
4They therefore that were dispersed, went about preaching the word of God.
5And Philip going down to the city of Samaria, preached Christ unto them.
6And the people with one accord were attentive to those things which were said by Philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles which he did.
7For many of them who had unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, went out.
8And many, taken with the palsy, and that were lame, were healed.
9There was therefore great joy in that city. Now there was a certain man named Simon, who before had been a magician in that city, seducing the people of Samaria, giving out that he was some great one:
10To whom they all gave ear, from the least to the greatest, saying: This man is the power of God, which is called great.
11And they were attentive to him, because, for a long time, he had bewitched them with his magical practices.
12But when they had believed Philip preaching of the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13Then Simon himself believed also; and being baptized, he adhered to Philip. And being astonished, wondered to see the signs and exceeding great miracles which were done.
14Now when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John.
15Who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.
16For he was not as yet come upon any of them; but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
18And when Simon saw, that by the imposition of the hands of the apostles, the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19Saying: Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said to him:
20Keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21Thou hast no part nor lot in this matter. For thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
22Do penance therefore for this thy wickedness; and pray to God, that perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee.
23For I see thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity.
24Then Simon answering, said: Pray you for me to the Lord, that none of these things which you have spoken may come upon me.
25And they indeed having testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to many countries of the Samaritans.
26Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying: Arise, go towards the south, to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza: this is desert.
27And rising up, he went. And behold a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch, of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge over all her treasures, had come to Jerusalem to adore.
28And he was returning, sitting in this chariot, and reading Isaias the prophet.
29And the Spirit said to Philip: Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest?
31Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32And the place of the scripture which he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb without voice before his shearer, so openeth he not his mouth.
33In humility his judgment was taken away. His generation who shall declare, for his life shall be taken from the earth?
34And the eunuch answering Philip, said: I beseech thee, of whom doth the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man?
35Then Philip, opening his mouth, and beginning at this scripture, preached unto him Jesus.
36And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water; and the eunuch said: See, here is water: what doth hinder me from being baptized?
37And Philip said: If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answering, said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38And he commanded the chariot to stand still; and they went 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 took away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing.
40But Philip was found in Azotus; and passing through, he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
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The Acts 8: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Acts 8
8
1Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was good.
Troubles for the Believers
On that day the church of Jerusalem began to be persecuted, and all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2And some religious people buried Stephen and cried loudly for him. 3Saul was also trying to destroy the church, going from house to house, dragging out men and women and putting them in jail. 4And wherever they were scattered, they told people the Good News.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
5Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached about the Christ. 6When the people there heard Philip and saw the miracles he was doing, they all listened carefully to what he said. 7Many of these people had evil spirits in them, but Philip made the evil spirits leave. The spirits made a loud noise when they came out. Philip also healed many weak and crippled people there. 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 and amazed all the people of Samaria. He bragged and called himself a great man. 10All the people—the least important and the most important—paid attention to Simon, saying, “This man has the power of God, called ‘the Great Power’!” 11Simon had amazed them with his magic so long that the people became his followers. 12But when 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 after he was baptized, he stayed very close to Philip. When he saw the miracles and the powerful things Philip did, Simon was amazed.
14When the apostles who were still in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God, 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 come upon any of them. 17Then, when the two apostles began laying their hands on 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, 19saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter said to him, “You and your money should both be destroyed, because you thought you could buy God’s gift with money. 21You cannot share with us in this work since your heart is not right before God. 22Change your heart! Turn away from this evil thing you have done, and 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 so the things you have said will not happen to me.”
25After Peter and John told the people what they had seen Jesus do and after they had spoken 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 said to Philip, “Get ready and go south 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. 28Now, as he was on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading from the Book of Isaiah, the prophet. 29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30So when 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 unless someone explains it to me?” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32The portion of Scripture he was reading was this:
“He was like a sheep being led to be killed.
He was quiet, as a lamb is quiet while its wool is being cut;
he never opened his mouth.
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 —himself or someone else?” 35Philip began to speak, and starting with this same Scripture, he 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?” [37Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 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. And 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.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.