Acts 8
8
1And Saul was assenting to his death, and there came in that day a great persecution upon the assembly in Jerusalem, all also were scattered abroad in the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles;
2and devout men carried away Stephen, and made great lamentation over him;
3and Saul was making havoc of the assembly, into every house entering, and haling men and women, was giving them up to prison;
4they then indeed, having been scattered, went abroad proclaiming good news — the word.
5And Philip having gone down to a city of Samaria, was preaching to them the Christ,
6the multitudes also were giving heed to the things spoken by Philip, with one accord, in their hearing and seeing the signs that he was doing,
7for unclean spirits came forth from many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice, and many who have been paralytic and lame were healed,
8and there was great joy in that city.
9And a certain man, by name Simon, was before in the city using magic, and amazing the nation of Samaria, saying himself to be a certain great one,
10to whom they were all giving heed, from small unto great, saying, ‘This one is the great power of God;’
11and they were giving heed to him, because of his having for a long time amazed them with deeds of magic.
12And when they believed Philip, proclaiming good news, the things concerning the reign of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women;
13and Simon also himself did believe, and, having been baptized, he was continuing with Philip, beholding also signs and mighty acts being done, he was amazed.
14And the apostles in Jerusalem having heard that Samaria hath received the word of God, did send unto them Peter and John,
15who having come down did pray concerning them, that they may receive the Holy Spirit, —
16for as yet he was fallen upon none of them, and only they have been baptized — to the name of the Lord Jesus;
17then were they laying hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18And Simon, having beheld that through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, the Holy Spirit is given, brought before them money,
19saying, ‘Give also to me this authority, that on whomsoever I may lay the hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.’
20And Peter said unto him, ‘Thy silver with thee — may it be to destruction! because the gift of God thou didst think to possess through money;
21thou hast neither part nor lot in this thing, for thy heart is not right before God;
22reform, therefore, from this thy wickedness, and beseech God, if then the purpose of thy heart may be forgiven thee,
23for in the gall of bitterness, and bond of unrighteousness, I perceive thee being.’
24And Simon answering, said, ‘Beseech ye for me unto the Lord, that nothing may come upon me of the things ye have spoken.’
25They indeed, therefore, having testified fully, and spoken the word of the Lord, did turn back to Jerusalem; in many villages also of the Samaritans they did proclaim good news.
26And a messenger of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, ‘Arise, and go on toward the south, on the way that is going down from Jerusalem to Gaza,’ — this is desert.
27And having arisen, he went on, and lo, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch, a man of rank, of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to worship to Jerusalem;
28he was also returning, and is sitting on his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near, and be joined to this chariot;’
30and Philip having run near, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Dost thou then know what thou dost read?’
31and he said, ‘Why, how am I able, if some one may not guide me?’ he called Philip also, having come up, to sit with him.
32And the contents of the Writing that he was reading was this: ‘As a sheep unto slaughter he was led, and as a lamb before his shearer dumb, so he doth not open his mouth;
33in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and his generation — who shall declare? because taken from the earth is his life.’
34And the eunuch answering Philip said, ‘I pray thee, about whom doth the prophet say this? about himself, or about some other one?’
35and Philip having opened his mouth, and having begun from this Writing, proclaimed good news to him — Jesus.
36And as they were going on the way, they came upon a certain water, and the eunuch said, ‘Lo, water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?’
37[And Philip said, ‘If thou dost believe out of all the heart, it is lawful;’ and he answering said, ‘I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God;’]
38and he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down to the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him;
39and when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, for he was going on his way rejoicing;
40and Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he was proclaiming good news to all the cities, till his coming to Caesarea.
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Acts 8: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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.