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And 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.

And devout men took order for Stephen's funeral, and made great mourning over him.

But Saul made havock of the church, entering in from house to house, and dragging away men and women, committed them to prison.

They therefore that were dispersed, went about preaching the word of God.

And Philip going down to the city of Samaria, preached Christ unto them.

And the people with one accord were attentive to those things which were said by Philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles which he did.

For many of them who had unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, went out.

And many, taken with the palsy, and that were lame, were healed.

There 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:

10 To whom they all gave ear, from the least to the greatest, saying: This man is the power of God, which is called great.

11 And they were attentive to him, because, for a long time, he had bewitched them with his magical practices.

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

13 Then 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.

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

15 Who, when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.

16 For he was not as yet come upon any of them; but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

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

18 And when Simon saw, that by the imposition of the hands of the apostles, the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

19 Saying: Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said to him:

20 Keep thy money to thyself, to perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

21 Thou hast no part nor lot in this matter. For thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

22 Do penance therefore for this thy wickedness; and pray to God, that perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee.

23 For I see thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity.

24 Then Simon answering, said: Pray you for me to the Lord, that none of these things which you have spoken may come upon me.

25 And they indeed having testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to many countries of the Samaritans.

26 Now 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.

27 And 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.

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

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

30 And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest?

31 Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

32 And 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.

33 In humility his judgment was taken away. His generation who shall declare, for his life shall be taken from the earth?

34 And the eunuch answering Philip, said: I beseech thee, of whom doth the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man?

35 Then Philip, opening his mouth, and beginning at this scripture, preached unto him Jesus.

36 And 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?

37 And 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.

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

39 And 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.

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

And Saul(A) approved of their killing him.

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered(B) throughout Judea and Samaria.(C) Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul(D) began to destroy the church.(E) Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

Philip in Samaria

Those who had been scattered(F) preached the word wherever they went.(G) Philip(H) went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many,(I) and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.(J) So there was great joy in that city.

Simon the Sorcerer

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery(K) in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,(L) 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”(M) 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God(N) and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,(O) both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles(P) he saw.

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria(Q) had accepted the word of God,(R) they sent Peter and John(S) to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,(T) 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them;(U) they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.(V) 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them,(W) and they received the Holy Spirit.(X)

18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!(Y) 21 You have no part or share(Z) in this ministry, because your heart is not right(AA) before God. 22 Repent(AB) of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

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

25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord(AD) and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.(AE)

Philip and the Ethiopian

26 Now an angel(AF) of the Lord said to Philip,(AG) “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a](AH) eunuch,(AI) an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,(AJ) 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told(AK) Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot 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 explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.”[b](AL)

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began(AM) with that very passage of Scripture(AN) and told him the good news(AO) about Jesus.

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”(AP) [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away,(AQ) and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns(AR) until he reached Caesarea.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 8:27 That is, from the southern Nile region
  2. Acts 8:33 Isaiah 53:7,8 (see Septuagint)
  3. Acts 8:37 Some manuscripts include here Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”