Acts — Chapter 8

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

2And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

3As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

4Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

5Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

6And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

7For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

8And there was great joy in that city.

9But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched 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 the great power of God.

11And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

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

13Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

14Now when the apostles which 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 Ghost:

16(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

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

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

19Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

20But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

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

22Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

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

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

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

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

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

28Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

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

30And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

32The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

33In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? 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 man?

35Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

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

37And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both 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 caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

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

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 Judaea 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[And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.]

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 Caesarea.

1And Saul agreed completely with killing him. Now on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.

2Some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.

3But Saul was trying to destroy the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

4Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word.

5Philip went down to the main city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them.

6The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was performing.

7For unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, and many paralyzed and lame people were healed.

8So there was great joy in that city.

9Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great.

10All the people, from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

11And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.

12But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they began to be baptized, both men and women.

13Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed.

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

15These two went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit.

16(For the Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

17Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, and they received the Holy Spirit.

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

19saying, “Give me this power too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you because you thought you could acquire God’s gift with money!

21You have no share or part in this matter because your heart is not right before God!

22Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart.

23For I see that you are bitterly envious and in bondage to sin.”

24But Simon replied, “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”

25So after Peter and John had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages as they went.

26Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)

27So he got up and went. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship,

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

29Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

30So Philip ran up to it and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

31The man replied, “How in the world can I, unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this:“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,so he did not open his mouth.

33In humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his posterity? For his life was taken away from the earth.”

34Then the eunuch said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?”

35So Philip started speaking, and beginning with this scripture proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him.

36Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me from being baptized?”

37[This verse is not included in the NET; see KJV/ASV for the traditional rendering.]

38So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

39Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but went on his way rejoicing.

40Philip, however, found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through the area, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

1Saul was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the assembly which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.

2Devout men buried Stephen, and lamented greatly over him.

3But Saul ravaged the assembly, entering into every house, and dragged both men and women off to prison.

4Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word.

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

6The multitudes listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard and saw the signs which he did.

7For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them. They came out, crying with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.

8There was great joy in that city.

9But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one,

10to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is that great power of God.”

11They listened to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries.

12But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip. Seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed.

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

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

16for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of Christ Jesus.

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

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

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

20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

21You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God.

22Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

23For I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”

24Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken happen to me.”

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

26But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”

27He arose and went; and behold, there was 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.

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

29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”

30Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31He said, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He begged 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. As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he doesn’t open his mouth.

33In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”

34The eunuch answered Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?”

35Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached to him about Jesus.

36As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”

38He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

40But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through, he preached the Good News to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.