^5 (A)Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming ^[a]Christ to them. ⁶ The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the ^[b]signs which he was performing. ⁷ For in the case of many who had ^(B)unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been ^(C)paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ So there was ^(D)much rejoicing in that city.

⁹ Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing ^(E)magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, ^(F)claiming to be someone great; ¹⁰ and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “^(G)This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹ And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his ^(H)magic arts. ¹² But when they believed Philip ^(I)preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being ^(J)baptized, men and women alike. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed ^(K)signs and ^(L)great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

¹⁴ Now when ^(M)the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them ^(N)Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them ^(O)that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For He had ^(P)not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been ^(Q)baptized ^[c]in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they ^(R)began laying their hands on them, and they were ^(S)receiving the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could ^(T)obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have ^(U)no part or portion in this ^[d]matter, for your heart is not ^(V)right before God. ²² Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, ^(W)if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in ^(X)the ^[e]bondage of iniquity.” ²⁴ But Simon answered and said, “^(Y)Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

²⁵ So, when they had solemnly ^(Z)testified and spoken ^(AA)the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were ^(AB)preaching the gospel to many villages of the ^(AC)Samaritans.

²⁶ But ^(AD)an angel of the Lord spoke to ^(AE)Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to ^(AF)Gaza.” (^[f]This is a desert road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went; and ^(AG)there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he ^(AH)had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was returning and sitting in his ^[g]chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then ^(AI)the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this ^[h]chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip ^(AL)opened his mouth, and ^(AM)beginning from this Scripture he ^(AN)preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! ^(AO)What prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁷ [^[k]And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] ³⁸ And he ordered the ^[l]chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, ^(AP)the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, ^[m]but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip ^[n]found himself at ^[o](AQ)Azotus, and as he passed through he ^(AR)kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to ^(AS)Caesarea.

⁸ On the next day we left and came to ^(A)Caesarea, and entering the house of ^(B)Philip the ^(C)evangelist, who was ^(D)one of the seven, we stayed with him.