Saul the Persecutor

8 Saul agreed with putting him to death.

On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.^{(A) 2} Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. ³ Saul,^(B) however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.^(C)

Philip in Samaria

⁴ So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the message of good news. ⁵ Philip went down to a^[a] city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.^{(D) 6} The crowds paid attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard 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.^{(E) 8} So there was great joy in that city.

The Response of Simon

⁹ A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and astounded the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great.^{(F) 10} They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God!”^{[b](G) 11} They were attentive to him because he had astounded them with his sorceries for a long time. ¹² But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.^{(H) 13} Then even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he went around constantly with^[c] Philip and was astounded as he observed the signs and great miracles^(I) that were being performed.

Simon’s Sin

¹⁴ When the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had welcomed God’s message, they sent Peter and John to them.^{(J) 15} After they went down there, they prayed for them, so the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For He had not yet come down on^[d] any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.^{(K) 17} Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Holy^[e] Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power too, so that anyone I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought the gift of God could be obtained with money!^{(L) 21} You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God.^{(M) 22} Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”^(N)

²⁴ “Please pray^[f] to the Lord for me,” Simon replied, “so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”^(O)

²⁵ Then, after they had testified and spoken the message of the Lord, they traveled back to Jerusalem, evangelizing many villages of the Samaritans.

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.)^{[g](P) 27} So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch^(Q) and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,^[h] who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem^{(R) 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.”^(S)

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 replied to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or another person?” ³⁵ So Philip proceeded^[j] to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.^(U)

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?” [³⁷ And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]^{[k] 38} Then 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^(V) carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ Philip appeared in^[l] Azotus,^[m] and he was traveling and evangelizing all the towns until he came to Caesarea.^(W)