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26 But (A)an angel of the [a]Lord spoke to (B)Philip saying, “Rise up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to (C)Gaza.” ([b]This is a desert road.) 27 So he rose up and went; and behold, (D)there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he (E)had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning and sitting in his [c]chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then (F)the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this [d]chariot.” 30 And 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:

(G)As a sheep is led to slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.
33 (H)In humiliation His judgment was taken away;
Who will [e]recount His [f]generation?
For His life is removed from the earth.”

34 And the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you earnestly, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip (I)opened his mouth, and (J)beginning from this Scripture he (K)proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 36 And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! (L)What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [g][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 [h]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, (M)the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, [i]but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip [j]found himself at [k](N)Azotus, and as he passed through he (O)kept proclaiming the gospel to all the cities until he came to (P)Caesarea.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 8:26 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Gen 16:7
  2. Acts 8:26 Or This city is deserted
  3. Acts 8:28 Or carriage
  4. Acts 8:29 Or carriage
  5. Acts 8:33 Or describe
  6. Acts 8:33 Or family, origin
  7. Acts 8:37 Early mss omit this v
  8. Acts 8:38 Or carriage
  9. Acts 8:39 Lit for he was going
  10. Acts 8:40 Or was found
  11. Acts 8:40 In OT, Ashdod

Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian(A)

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to (B)Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is [a]desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, (C)a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and (D)had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

(E)“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
(F)So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His (G)justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is (H)taken from the earth.”

34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, (I)and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. (J)What hinders me from being baptized?”

37 [b]Then Philip said, (K)“If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, (L)“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, (M)the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at [c]Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to (N)Caesarea.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 8:26 Or a deserted place
  2. Acts 8:37 NU, M omit v. 37. It is found in Western texts, including the Latin tradition.
  3. Acts 8:40 Same as Heb. Ashdod