Acts 8
Expanded Bible
8 Saul ·agreed that the killing of Stephen was good [L approved of his execution/death].
Troubles for the Believers
On that day the church of Jerusalem began to be persecuted, and all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout [L the countryside/regions of] Judea and Samaria [C the southern and central regions of Israel].
2 And some ·religious [devout; pious; godly] ·people [or men] buried Stephen and ·cried loudly [or mourned deeply] for him. 3 [L But] Saul ·was also trying to destroy [or began harassing/mistreating/doing harm to] the church, going from house to house, dragging ·out [or off] men and women and putting them in ·jail [prison]. 4 But wherever the believers were scattered, they told people the ·Good News [Gospel].
Philip Preaches in Samaria
5 Philip [C one of the seven leaders chosen to serve; 6:5; 21:8] went to ·the city[a] [or a city; or the main city] of Samaria [C perhaps the city of Sebaste, known in ancient times as Samaria] and ·preached about [proclaimed] the ·Christ [Messiah]. 6 When the ·people [L crowds] there heard Philip and saw the ·miracles [signs] he was doing, they all [L with one accord/mind] listened carefully to what he said. 7 Many of these people had ·evil [L unclean; 5:16] spirits in them, but Philip made the evil spirits ·leave [come out]. The spirits made a loud ·noise [cry] when they came out. Philip also healed many ·weak [paralyzed] and ·crippled [lame] people there. 8 So the people in that city were ·very happy [joyful; greatly rejoicing].
9 But there was a man named Simon in that city. ·Before Philip came there, [L Previously] Simon had practiced ·magic [sorcery] and amazed all the people of Samaria. He ·bragged and called himself [L said he was] a great man. 10 All the people—·the least important and the most important [L from the smallest to the greatest]—paid attention to Simon, saying, “This man has the power of God, called ‘·the Great Power [L Great]’!” 11 Simon had amazed them with his ·magic [sorcery] so long that the people ·became his followers [L paid attention to him]. 12 But when Philip told them the ·Good News [Gospel] about the kingdom of God and the ·power [L name] of Jesus Christ, men and women believed Philip and were baptized. 13 Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed very close to Philip. When he saw the ·miracles [signs] and the powerful things Philip did, Simon was amazed.
14 When the apostles who were still in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria [8:1] had ·accepted [received] the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When Peter and John arrived, they prayed that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 These people had [L only] been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet ·come [L fallen] upon any of them. 17 Then, when ·the two apostles [L they] began ·laying [placing] their hands on the people [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority], they received the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles ·laid [placed] their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money, 19 saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I ·lay [place] my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter said to him, “·You and your money should both be destroyed [L May your silver perish with you], because you thought you could ·buy [get; obtain] God’s gift with money. 21 You ·cannot [L have no part or] share with us in this ·work [ministry; L thing; word] since your heart is not right before God. 22 ·Change your heart! Turn away from [L Repent of] this evil thing you have done, and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you for ·thinking this [L the intent of your heart]. 23 [L For] I see that you are full of ·bitter jealousy [L the gall/bile of bitterness; C a metaphor; gall is a bitter fluid; Deut. 29:18] and ·ruled by sin [L in bondage to wickedness/unrighteousness].”
24 Simon answered, “Both of you pray for me to the Lord so the things you have said will not happen to me.”
25 After ·Peter and John [L they] ·told the people what they had seen Jesus do [L testified; bore witness] and after they had spoken the ·message [word] of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan ·towns [villages] and preached the ·Good News [Gospel] to the people.
Philip Teaches an Ethiopian
26 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ·ready [up] and go ·south [or at about noon] to the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem [C a distance of about fifty miles]—the ·desert [wilderness] road.” 27 So Philip got ·ready [up] and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia [C not present-day Ethiopia (Abyssinia), but Nubia in northern Sudan], a eunuch [or court official; C royal servants were sometimes made eunuchs (castrated males), especially if they served in the presence of females]. He was an important officer in the service of ·Candace [or the Kandáke; C a title, not a name, meaning “queen”], the queen of the Ethiopians; he was responsible for ·taking care of all her money [her entire treasury]. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28 Now, as he was on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading from the ·Book of Isaiah, the prophet [L the prophet Isaiah]. 29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and ·stay near [join] it.”
30 So when Philip ran toward the chariot, he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet [C ancient peoples generally read aloud]. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 He answered, “How can I understand unless someone ·explains it to [guides; directs] me?” Then he ·invited [urged] Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32 The portion of Scripture he was reading was this:
“He was like a sheep being led to ·be killed [L the slaughter].
He was quiet, as a lamb is quiet ·while its wool is being cut [L before its shearer];
he never opened his mouth.
33 He was shamed and was treated ·unfairly [unjustly].
·He died without children to continue his family [L Who can describe his generation?; C having no descendants was a mark of shame and failure].
[L For] His life on earth ·has ended [was taken away; Is. 53:7–8].”
34 The ·officer [L eunuch] said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else [C the idea of a suffering messiah was not commonly understood in Judaism]?” 35 Philip ·began to speak [L opened his mouth], and starting with this same Scripture, he told the man the ·Good News [Gospel] about Jesus.
36 While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The ·officer [L eunuch] said, “Look, here is water. What is ·stopping [preventing] me from being baptized?” |37 Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”|[b] 38 Then the officer commanded the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the ·officer [L eunuch] went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord ·took [snatched; carried] Philip away; the officer ·never [or no longer] saw him again. And the ·officer [L eunuch] continued on his way home, ·full of joy [rejoicing]. 40 But Philip ·appeared [or found himself; L was found] in a city called Azotus [C another name for Ashdod, just to the north of Gaza] and ·preached [proclaimed] the ·Good News [Gospel] in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea [C a city further north up the coast].
Acts 8
English Standard Version
Saul Ravages the Church
8 And (A)Saul (B)approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and (C)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But (D)Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he (E)dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now (F)those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 (G)Philip went down to the city[a] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 (H)And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him (I)and saw the signs that he did. 7 For (J)unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So (K)there was much joy in that city.
Simon the Magician Believes
9 But there was a man named Simon, (L)who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, (M)saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, (N)“This man is the power of God that is called (O)Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had (P)amazed them with his magic. 12 But when (Q)they believed Philip as he preached good news (R)about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, (S)they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And (T)seeing signs and (U)great miracles[b] performed, (V)he was amazed.
14 Now when (W)the apostles at Jerusalem heard that (X)Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them (Y)that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for (Z)he had not yet (AA)fallen on any of them, but (AB)they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then (AC)they laid their hands on them and (AD)they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, (AE)“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God (AF)with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for (AG)your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, (AH)if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in (AI)the gall[c] of bitterness and in (AJ)the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, (AK)“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, (AL)preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
26 Now (AM)an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south[d] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an (AN)Ethiopian, a (AO)eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, (AP)who was in charge of all her treasure. (AQ)He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, (AR)“How can I, unless someone (AS)guides me?” And (AT)he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
(AU)“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his (AV)humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and (AW)beginning with this Scripture (AX)he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! (AY)What prevents me from being baptized?”[e] 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, (AZ)the Spirit of the Lord (BA)carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Footnotes
- Acts 8:5 Some manuscripts a city
- Acts 8:13 Greek works of power
- Acts 8:23 That is, a bitter fluid secreted by the liver; bile
- Acts 8:26 Or go at about noon
- Acts 8:36 Some manuscripts add all or most of verse 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.”
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
