Acts 8:26-40
Wycliffe Bible
26 And an angel of the Lord spake to Philip, and said, Rise thou, and go to meet the south [saying, Rise thou, and go against the south], to the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza; this is desert.
27 And he rose, and went forth. And lo! a man of Ethiopia, a mighty manservant, a gelding of Candace, the queen of Ethiopians [And lo! a man of Ethiopia, a mighty gelding of the queen Candace of Ethiopians], which was on all her riches, came to worship in Jerusalem.
28 And he turned again, sitting on his chariot, and reading Esaias, the prophet.
29 And the Spirit said to Philip, Approach thou[a], and join thee to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran to, and heard him reading Esaias, the prophet. And he said, Guessest thou, whether thou understandest, what things thou readest?
31 And he said, How may I, if no man show to me [Which said, And how may I, if some man shall not show to me]? And he prayed Philip, that he should come up, and sit with him.
32 And the place of the scripture that he read, was this, As a sheep he was led to slaying, and as a lamb before a man that sheareth him is dumb without voice, so he opened not his mouth. [Forsooth the place of scripture that he read was this, As a sheep to slaying he was led, and as a lamb before a man shearing him is dumb without voice, so he opened not his mouth.]
33 In meekness his doom was taken up; who shall tell out the generation of him? For his life shall be taken away from the earth.
34 And the gelding answered to Philip, and said, I beseech thee, of what prophet saith he this thing? of himself, or of any other?
35 And Philip opened his mouth, and began at this scripture, and preached to him Jesus.
36 And while they went by the way, they came to a water [they came to some water]. And the gelding said, Lo! water; who forbiddeth me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest of all thine heart, it is leaveful. And 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 went down both into the water, Philip and the gelding, and Philip baptized him [and he baptized him].
39 And when they were come up of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched (up) Philip, and the gelding saw him no more; and he went in his way joying.
40 And Philip was found in Azotus; and he passed forth, and preached to all cities [and he passing forth, evangelized to all cities], till he came to Caesarea.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 8:29 Nigh thou/Come to
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.
Read full chapter
Acts 8:26-40
1599 Geneva Bible
26 [a]Then the Angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the South unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is waste.
27 And he arose and went on: and behold, a certain Eunuch of Ethiopia, Candace the Queen of the Ethiopians’ [b]chief Governor, who had the rule of all her treasure, and came to Jerusalem to worship.
28 And as he returned sitting in his chariot, he read Isaiah the Prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to yonder chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither, and heard him read the Prophet Isaiah, and said, But understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except I had [c]a guide? And he desired Philip, that he would come up and sit with him.
32 [d]Now the place of the Scripture which he read, was this, (A)He was lead as a sheep to the slaughter: and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.
33 In his [e]humility his judgment hath been exalted: but who shall declare his [f]generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 Then the Eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the Prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the Eunuch said, See, here is water: what doth let me to be baptized?
37 [g]And Philip said unto him, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. Then he answered, and said, [h]I believe that that Jesus Christ is that Son of God.
38 Then he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the Eunuch, and he baptized him.
39 And as soon as they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the Eunuch saw him no more: so he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus, and he walked to and fro preaching in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 8:26 Christ who calleth freely whom he listeth, doth now use Philip who thought on no such matter, to instruct and baptize the Eunuch at unawares, and by this means extendeth the limits of his kingdom even into Ethiopia.
- Acts 8:27 A man of great wealth and authority with Candaces: Now this word Candaces is a common name to all the Queens of Ethiopia.
- Acts 8:31 To show me the way how to understand it.
- Acts 8:32 Those things which seem most to come by chance or fortune (as men term it) are governed by the secret providence of God.
- Acts 8:33 The Hebrew text readeth it thus, Out of a narrow strait, and out of judgment was he taken: whereby the narrow strait, he meaneth the grave and the very bands of death, and by judgment, the punishment which was laid upon him, and the miserable state which Christ took upon him for our sakes, in bearing his Father’s wrath.
- Acts 8:33 How long his age shall last: for Christ having once risen from the dead, dieth no more, Rom. 6:9.
- Acts 8:37 Profession of faith is requisite in baptizing of them which are of years, and therefore it is evident that we are not then first ingrafted into Christ, when we are baptized, but being already ingrafted are then confirmed.
- Acts 8:37 The sum of the confession which is necessary for baptism.
Acts 8:26-40
Authorized (King James) Version
26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 in his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And 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 went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Cæsarea.
Read full chapter2001 by Terence P. Noble
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.