Acts 8
Saul Persecutes the Church
1
Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that
time a great persecution arose against the
church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all
scattered throughout the regions of Judea and
Samaria, except the apostles.
2
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial,
and made great lamentation over him.
3
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church,
entering every house, and dragging off men and
women, committing them to prison.
Christ Is Preached in Samaria
4
Therefore those who were scattered went
everywhere preaching the word.
5
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and
preached Christ to them.
6
And the multitudes with one accord heeded the
things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the
miracles which he did.
7
For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice,
came out of many who were possessed; and many
who were paralyzed and lame were healed.
8
And there was great joy in that city.
The Sorcerer’s Profession of Faith
9
But there was a certain man called Simon, who
previously practiced sorcery in the city and
astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that
he was someone great,
10
to whom they all gave heed, from the least to
the greatest, saying, “This man is the great
power of God.”
11
And they heeded him because he had astonished
them with his sorceries for a long time.
12
But when they believed Philip as he preached the
things concerning the kingdom of God and the
name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were
baptized.
13
Then Simon himself also believed; and when he
was baptized he continued with Philip, and was
amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were
done.The Sorcerer’s Sin
14
Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word of God,
they sent Peter and John to them,
15
who, when they had come down, prayed for them
that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16
For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They
had only been baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus.
17 Then they laid hands on them, and they
received the Holy Spirit.
18
And when Simon saw that through the laying on of
the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given,
he offered them money,
19
saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on
whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20
But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with
you, because you thought that the gift of God
could be purchased with money!
21
You have neither part nor portion in this
matter, for your heart is not right in the sight
of God.
22 Repent therefore of this your
wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought
of your heart may be forgiven you.
23
For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness
and bound by iniquity.”
24
Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord
for me, that none of the things which you have
spoken may come upon me.”
25
So when they had testified and preached the word
of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem,
preaching the gospel in many villages of the
Samaritans.Christ Is Preached to an
Ethiopian
26
Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the
road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
This is desert.
27
So he arose and went. And behold, a man of
Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under
Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had
charge of all her treasury, and 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:
“ He was led as a sheep to the
slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is
silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His
justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is 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, 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. What hinders me from being
baptized?”
37
Then 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
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, 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 Azotus. And passing
through, he preached in all the cities till he
came to Caesarea.
