⁵ Philip went down to a^[a] city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.^{(A) 6} The crowds were all paying attention to what Philip said, as they listened and saw the signs he was performing. ⁷ For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.^{(B) 8} So there was great joy in that city.

The Conversion of the Ethiopian Official

²⁶ An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.^[a](A)) ²⁷ So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch^(B) and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem^{(C) 28} and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.

²⁹ The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”^(D)

³⁰ When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this:

³⁴ The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.^(F)

³⁶ As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?” ^{[c] 38} So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord^(G) carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ Philip appeared in^[d] Azotus,^[e] and he was traveling and preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.^(H)

A House of Prayer for All

56 This is what the Lord says:

⁹ But you are a chosen race,^[a][b](A) a royal priesthood,^[c](B) a holy nation,^[d](C) a people for his possession,^[e](D) so that you may proclaim the praises^[f][g](E) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.^{(F) 10} Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy,^(G) but now you have received mercy.