Acts 8:26-40

New Matthew Bible

²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is in the desert. ²⁷ And Philip arose and went on. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, who was a chamberlain, and of great authority with Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, and in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to pray. ²⁸ And as he returned home again, sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.

²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go near and overtake that chariot. ³⁰ And 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 I have a guide? And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² The tenor of the scripture that he was reading was this: He was led as a sheep to be slain, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so he opened not his mouth. ³³ Because of his humbleness, he was not esteemed. But who can number his descendants? For his life is taken from the earth.

³⁴ The chamberlain said to Philip, I ask you, of whom does the prophet speak this? of himself, or of some other man? ³⁵ And Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture, and preached Jesus to him.

³⁶ And as they went on their way, they came to some water, and the chamberlain said, See, here is water. What is to keep me from being baptized? ³⁷ Philip said to him, If you believe with all your heart, you may be. He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

³⁸ And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they both went down into the water, both Philip and also the chamberlain, and he baptized him.

³⁹ And as soon as they had come out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the chamberlain saw him no more. And he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus, and he walked throughout the country preaching in their towns until he came to Caesarea.