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 consenting to his being killed. And on that day there arose a great persecution against the assembly which was in Jerusalem, and all were scattered into the countries of Judaea and Samaria except the apostles.

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

³But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into the houses one after another, and dragging off both men and women delivered them up to prison.

⁴Those then that had been scattered went through [the countries] announcing the glad tidings of the word.

⁵And Philip, going down to a city of Samaria, preached the Christ to them;

⁶and the crowds with one accord gave heed to the things spoken by Philip, when they heard [him] and saw the signs which he wrought.

⁷For from many who had unclean spirits they went out, crying with a loud voice; and many that were paralysed and lame were healed.

⁸And there was great joy in that city.

⁹But a certain man, by name Simon, had been before in the city, using magic arts, and astonishing the nation of Samaria, saying that himself was some great one.

¹⁰To whom they had all given heed, from small to great, saying, This is the power ofGod which is called great.

¹¹And they gave heed to him, because that for a long time he had astonished them by his magic arts.

¹²But when they believed Philip announcing the glad tidings concerning the kingdom ofGod and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women.

¹³And Simon also himself believed; and, having been baptised, continued constantly with Philip; and, beholding the signs and great works of power which took place, was astonished.

¹⁴And the apostles who were in Jerusalem, having heard that Samaria had received the word ofGod, sent to them Peter and John;

¹⁵who, having come down, prayed for them that they might receive [the] Holy Spirit;

¹⁶for he was not yet fallen upon any of them, only they were baptised to the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁷Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received [the] Holy Spirit.

¹⁸But Simon, having seen that by the laying on of the hands of the apostles the [Holy] Spirit was given, offered them money,

¹⁹saying, Give to me also this power, in order that on whomsoever I may lay hands he may receive [the] Holy Spirit.

²⁰And Peter said to him, Thy money go with thee to destruction, because thou hast thought that the gift ofGod can be obtained by money.

²¹Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not upright beforeGod.

²²Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and supplicate the Lord, if indeed the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee;

²³for I see thee to be in the gall of bitterness, and bond of unrighteousness.

²⁴And Simon answering said, Supplicate ye for me to the Lord, so that nothing may come upon me of the things of which ye have spoken.

²⁵They therefore, having testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and announced the glad tidings to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶But [the] angel of [the] Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go southward on the way which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza: the same is desert.

²⁷And he rose up and went. And lo, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a man in power under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to worship at Jerusalem,

²⁸was returning and sitting in his chariot: and he was reading the prophet Esaias.

²⁹And the Spirit said to Philip, Approach and join this chariot.

³⁰And Philip, running up, heard him reading the prophet Esaias, and said, Dost thou then know what thou art reading of?

³¹And he said, How should I then be able unless some one guide me? And he begged Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²And the passage of the scripture which he read was this: He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb is dumb in presence of him that shears him, thus he opens not his mouth.

³³In his humiliation his judgment has been taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

³⁴And the eunuch answering Philip said, I pray thee, concerning whom does the prophet say this? of himself or of some other?

³⁵And Philip, opening his mouth and beginning from that scripture, announced the glad tidings of Jesus to him.

³⁶And as they went along the way, they came upon a certain water, and the eunuch says, Behold water; what hinders my being baptised?

³⁷

³⁸And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they went down both to the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptised him.

³⁹But when they came up out of the water [the] Spirit of [the] Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no longer, for he went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰And Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through he announced the glad tidings to all the cities till he came to Caesarea.