Acts 8 | King James Version :: ERF Bibleserver

King James Version

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea 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 havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. 12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. 23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. 24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. 25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 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 Caesarea.

New International Reader’s Version

The church is treated badly and scattered

1 And Saul had agreed with the Sanhedrin that Stephen should die. On that day the church in Jerusalem began to be attacked and treated badly. All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly Jews buried Stephen. They mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. He went from house to house. He dragged away men and women and put them in prison.

Philip goes to Samaria

4 The believers who had been scattered preached the word everywhere they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria. There he preached about the Messiah. 6 The crowds listened to Philip and saw the signs he did. All of them paid close attention to what he said. 7 Evil spirits screamed and came out of many people. Many people who were disabled or who couldn’t walk were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

Simon the evil magician

9 A man named Simon lived in the city. For quite a while he had practised evil magic there. He amazed all the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great. 10 And all the people listened to him, from the least important of them to the most important. They exclaimed, ‘It is right to call this man the Great Power of God!’ 11 He had amazed them for a long time with his evil magic. So they followed him. 12 But Philip announced the good news of God’s kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ. So men and women believed and were baptised. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptised. He followed Philip everywhere. He was amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw. 14 The apostles in Jerusalem heard that people in Samaria had accepted God’s word. So they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived there, they prayed for the new believers. They prayed that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them. They had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them. And they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Simon watched as the apostles placed their hands on them. He saw that the Spirit was given to them. So he offered money to Peter and John. 19 He said, ‘Give me this power too. Then everyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.’ 20 Peter answered, ‘May your money be destroyed with you! Do you think you can buy God’s gift with money? 21 You have no part or share in this holy work. Your heart is not right with God. 22 Turn away from this evil sin of yours. Pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 I see that you are very bitter. You are a prisoner of sin.’ 24 Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me. Pray that nothing you have said will happen to me.’ 25 Peter and John continued to preach the word of the Lord and tell people about Jesus. Then they returned to Jerusalem. On the way they preached the good news in many villages in Samaria.

Philip and the man from Ethiopia

26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. ‘Go south to the desert road,’ he said. ‘It’s the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ 27 So Philip started out. On his way he met an Ethiopian official. The man had an important position in charge of all the wealth of the Kandake. Kandake means queen of Ethiopia. This official had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28 On his way home he was sitting in his chariot. He was reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Holy Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot. Stay near it.’ 30 So Philip ran up to the chariot. He heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you’re reading?’ Philip asked. 31 ‘How can I?’ he said. ‘I need someone to explain it to me.’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Here is the part of Scripture the official was reading. It says, ‘He was led like a sheep to be killed. Just as lambs are silent while their wool is being cut off, he did not open his mouth. 33 When he was treated badly, he was refused a fair trial. Who can say anything about his children? His life was cut off from the earth.’ (Isa 53:7; Isa 53:8) 34 The official said to Philip, ‘Tell me, please. Who is the prophet talking about? Himself, or someone else?’ 35 Then Philip began with that same part of Scripture. He told him the good news about Jesus. 36-37 As they travelled along the road, they came to some water. The official said, ‘Look! Here is water! What can stop me from being baptised?’ 38 He gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down into the water. Philip baptised him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official did not see him again. He went on his way full of joy. 40 Philip was seen next at Azotus. From there he travelled all around. He preached the good news in all the towns. Finally he arrived in Caesarea.