Acts 8

8 ¹Saul approved of Stephen's killing. That day a great persecution erupted against the Jerusalem church, scattering everyone except the apostles through Judea and Samaria. ²Devout men buried Stephen and mourned loudly over him. ³But Saul was destroying the church, entering house after house, dragging off men and women, throwing them in prison.

Philip Proclaims in Samaria

⁴So those scattered went everywhere, proclaiming the good news of the word. ⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them. ⁶The crowds paid attention together to Philip's words, hearing and seeing the signs he did. ⁷Unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, screaming loudly, and many paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

⁹A man named Simon had already practiced magic in that city, amazing Samaria's people and claiming to be someone great. ¹⁰Everyone, from least to greatest, listened to him, saying, "This man is God's power, called Great." ¹¹They paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. ¹²But when they believed Philip's good news about the kingdom of our Father and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women were baptized. ¹³Simon himself believed, was baptized, and stayed close to Philip, amazed at the signs and great miracles he saw.

¹⁴When the apostles in Jerusalem heard Samaria had received our Father's word, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶for the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them; they were only baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸When Simon saw the Spirit given through the apostles' laying on of hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, "Give me this power too, so whoever I lay hands on receives the Holy Spirit." ²⁰Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, since you thought you could buy our Father's gift with money! ²¹You have no part or share in this matter, for your heart is not right before our Father. ²²So turn from this evil, and pray to our Father that, if possible, your heart's intent may be forgiven you. ²³I see you poisoned by bitterness and bound by evil."

²⁴Simon answered, "Pray to God for me, that nothing you have said may come upon me."

²⁵So, having testified and spoken our Lord Jesus's word, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the good news in many Samaritan villages.

Philip and the Ethiopian

²⁶Then an angel of our Father told Philip, "Get up and go south to the road going down from Jerusalem to Gaza"—a desert road. ²⁷He got up and went. There was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship, ^a a v27 Candace was not a personal name but the royal title for the queen mother of the kingdom of Cush, south of Egypt. ²⁸and was returning, seated in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹And the Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and catch up with that chariot."

³⁰Philip ran up, heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and asked, "Do you understand what you're reading?"

³¹He said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" and invited Philip up to sit with him. ³²Now the passage of Scripture he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he did not open his mouth. ³³In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth."

³⁴The eunuch said to Philip, "Tell me, of whom does the prophet say this—himself, or someone else?"

³⁵Philip opened his mouth and, starting from this Scripture, told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶Traveling the road, they reached water, and the eunuch said, "Look, water! What stops me from being baptized?" ^b b v36 The earliest manuscripts do not have a verse 37 here; later copies add: "Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'" ³⁸He ordered the chariot to stop; both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and Philip baptized him.

³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of our Father snatched Philip away; the eunuch never saw him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰Philip found himself at Azotus. He traveled through, announcing the good news in every town until he reached Caesarea.