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
GOD’S WORD Translation
8 Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.
On that day widespread persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Most believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2 Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.
3 Saul tried to destroy the church. He dragged men and women out of one home after another and threw them into prison.
Some Samaritans Become Believers
4 The believers who were scattered went from place to place, where they spread the word. 5 Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about the Messiah. 6 The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said. They listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. 7 Evil spirits screamed as they came out of the many people they had possessed. Many paralyzed and lame people were cured. 8 As a result, that city was extremely happy.
9 A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great. 10 Everyone from children to adults paid attention to him. They said, “This man is the power of God, and that power is called great.” 11 They paid attention to Simon because he had amazed them for a long time with his practice of magic. 12 However, when Philip spread the Good News about God’s kingdom and the one named Jesus Christ, men and women believed him and were baptized. 13 Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized, he became devoted to Philip. Simon was amazed to see the miracles and impressive things that were happening.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted God’s word, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 Peter and John went to Samaria and prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (Before this the Holy Spirit had not come to any of the Samaritans. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered Peter and John money 19 and said, “Give me this power so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter told Simon, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy God’s gift. 21 You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is. 22 So change your wicked thoughts, and ask the Lord if he will forgive you for thinking like this. 23 I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and wrapped up in your evil ways.”
24 Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you said will happen to me.”
25 After they had boldly spoken about the message of the Lord, they spread the Good News in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem.
Philip Tells an Ethiopian about Jesus
26 An angel from the Lord said to Philip, “Get up, and take the desert road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So Philip went.
An Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship was on his way home. The man was a eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. 28 As the official rode along in his carriage, he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.
29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that carriage, and stay close to it.”
30 Philip ran to the carriage and could hear the official reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31 The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to sit with him in his carriage.
32 This was the part of the Scriptures that the official was reading:
“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
He was like a sheep that is silent
when its wool is cut off.
He didn’t open his mouth.
33 When he humbled himself,
he was not judged fairly.
Who from his generation
will talk about his life on earth being cut short?”
34 The official said to Philip, “I would like to know who the prophet is talking about. Is he talking about himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip spoke. Starting with that passage, Philip told the official the Good News about Jesus.
36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The official said to Philip, “Look, there’s some water. What can keep me from being baptized?” [a] 38 The official ordered the carriage to stop. He and Philip stepped into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they had stepped out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official joyfully continued on his way and didn’t see Philip again.
40 Philip found himself in the city of Azotus. He traveled through all the cities and spread the Good News until he came to the city of Caesarea.
Footnotes
- 8:36 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 37: “Philip said to the official, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you can be baptized.’ The official answered, ‘I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ ”
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