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8:1  Saul agreed with putting Stephen to death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.
8:2  Godly men buried Stephen, and they mourned deeply for him.
8:3  But Saul was trying to destroy the church by going into one house after another, dragging off both men and women, and putting them in prison.
8:4  So those believers who were scattered went around proclaiming the gospel message.
8:5  Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching the Christ to them.
8:6  With one mind, the crowds paid close attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the miraculous signs he was doing.
8:7  Unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.
8:8  So there was great joy in that city.
8:9  Now there was a man by the name of Simon, who had been practicing magic arts in the city. He amazed the people of Samaria while claiming that he was someone great.
8:10  They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”
8:11  They paid attention to him, because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic arts.
8:12  But when they believed Philip, as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
8:13  Then even Simon himself believed. After he was baptized, he stayed close to Philip. As he observed the signs and great miracles that were taking place, he was amazed.
8:14  When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
8:15  When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
8:16  for he had not yet come upon any of them. They had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
8:17  Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
8:18  When Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money
8:19  and said, “Give me this power too, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
8:20  But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
8:21  You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right in God’s sight.
8:22  So repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord. Perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
8:23  For I see that you are filled with bitter poison and chained by wickedness.”
8:24  Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
8:25  After Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
8:26  Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is an isolated area.)
8:27  So he got up and went. And there was a man, an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship.
8:28  He was on his way home, sitting in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
8:29  The Spirit told Philip, “Go over there and stay close to that chariot.”
8:30  Philip ran up to it and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
8:31  The man replied, “How can I unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
8:32  Now the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth.
8:33  In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will talk about his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.
8:34  The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else?”
8:35  Then Philip began to speak. Starting with that very passage of Scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.
8:36  As they were traveling along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”
8:38  He ordered the chariot to stop. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
8:39  When they stepped up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. The eunuch did not see him anymore, but went on his way rejoicing.
8:40  Philip, however, found himself at Azotus. And as he went from place to place, he preached the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.