Acts 8

¹And Saul was consenting unto his death. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles.

²And devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him.

³But Saul laid waste the church, entering into every house, and dragging men and women committed them to prison.

⁴They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word.

⁵And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.

⁶And the multitudes gave heed with one accord unto the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard, and saw the signs which he did.

⁷For from many of those that had unclean spirits, they came out, crying with a loud voice: and many that were palsied, and that were lame, were healed.

⁸And there was much joy in that city.

⁹But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who beforetime in the city used sorcery, and amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

¹⁰to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is that power of God which is called Great.

¹¹And they gave heed to him, because that of long time he had amazed them with his sorceries.

¹²But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

¹³And Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, he continued with Philip; and beholding signs and great miracles wrought, he was amazed.

¹⁴Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

¹⁵who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit:

¹⁶for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁷Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,

¹⁹saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.

²⁰But Peter said unto him, Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money.

²¹Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right before God.

²²Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee.

²³For I see that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.

²⁴And Simon answered and said, Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken come upon me.

²⁵They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert.

²⁷And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship;

²⁸and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

³⁰And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

³¹And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth:

³³In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: His generation who shall declare? For his life is taken from the earth.

³⁴And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?

³⁵And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus.

³⁶And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

³⁷

³⁸And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into 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 went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Cæsarea.

Acts 8

¹And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

²God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

³But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

⁴Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

⁵Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.

⁶The crowds gave their undivided attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform.

⁷With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed.

⁸So there was great joy in that city.

⁹Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great,

¹⁰and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.”

¹¹They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.

¹²But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

¹³Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.

¹⁴When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

¹⁵On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.

¹⁹“Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!

²¹You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

²²Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.

²³For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.”

²⁴Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

²⁵And after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many of the Samaritan villages.

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

²⁷So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,

²⁸and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.

²⁹The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.”

³⁰So Philip ran up 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 guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

³³In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth.”

³⁴“Tell me,” said the eunuch, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”

³⁷

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 carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.