8:1 Saul ·agreed that the killing of Stephen was good [L approved of his execution/death]. On that day the church of Jerusalem began to be persecuted, and all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout [L the countryside/regions of] Judea and Samaria [C the southern and central regions of Israel].
8:2 And some ·religious [devout; pious; godly] ·people [or men] buried Stephen and ·cried loudly [or mourned deeply] for him.
8:3 [L But] Saul ·was also trying to destroy [or began harassing/mistreating/doing harm to] the church, going from house to house, dragging ·out [or off] men and women and putting them in ·jail [prison].
8:4 But wherever the believers were scattered, they told people the ·Good News [Gospel].
8:5 Philip [C one of the seven leaders chosen to serve; 6:5; 21:8] went to ·the city [or a city; or the main city] of Samaria [C perhaps the city of Sebaste, known in ancient times as Samaria] and ·preached about [proclaimed] the ·Christ [Messiah].
8:6 When the ·people [L crowds] there heard Philip and saw the ·miracles [signs] he was doing, they all [L with one accord/mind] listened carefully to what he said.
8:7 Many of these people had ·evil [L unclean; 5:16] spirits in them, but Philip made the evil spirits ·leave [come out]. The spirits made a loud ·noise [cry] when they came out. Philip also healed many ·weak [paralyzed] and ·crippled [lame] people there.
8:8 So the people in that city were ·very happy [joyful; greatly rejoicing].
8:9 But there was a man named Simon in that city. ·Before Philip came there, [L Previously] Simon had practiced ·magic [sorcery] and amazed all the people of Samaria. He ·bragged and called himself [L said he was] a great man.
8:10 All the people—·the least important and the most important [L from the smallest to the greatest]—paid attention to Simon, saying, “This man has the power of God, called ‘·the Great Power [L Great]’!”
8:11 Simon had amazed them with his ·magic [sorcery] so long that the people ·became his followers [L paid attention to him].
8:12 But when Philip told them the ·Good News [Gospel] about the kingdom of God and the ·power [L name] of Jesus Christ, men and women believed Philip and were baptized.
8:13 Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed very close to Philip. When he saw the ·miracles [signs] and the powerful things Philip did, Simon was amazed.
8:14 When the apostles who were still in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria [8:1] had ·accepted [received] the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
8:15 When Peter and John arrived, they prayed that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit.
8:16 These people had [L only] been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet ·come [L fallen] upon any of them.
8:17 Then, when ·the two apostles [L they] began ·laying [placing] their hands on the people [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority], they received the Holy Spirit.
8:18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles ·laid [placed] their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money,
8:19 saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I ·lay [place] my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
8:20 Peter said to him, “·You and your money should both be destroyed [L May your silver perish with you], because you thought you could ·buy [get; obtain] God’s gift with money.
8:21 You ·cannot [L have no part or] share with us in this ·work [ministry; L thing; word] since your heart is not right before God.
8:22 ·Change your heart! Turn away from [L Repent of] this evil thing you have done, and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you for ·thinking this [L the intent of your heart].
8:23 [L For] I see that you are full of ·bitter jealousy [L the gall/bile of bitterness; C a metaphor; gall is a bitter fluid; Deut. 29:18] and ·ruled by sin [L in bondage to wickedness/unrighteousness].”
8:24 Simon answered, “Both of you pray for me to the Lord so the things you have said will not happen to me.”
8:25 After ·Peter and John [L they] ·told the people what they had seen Jesus do [L testified; bore witness] and after they had spoken the ·message [word] of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan ·towns [villages] and preached the ·Good News [Gospel] to the people.
8:26 An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ·ready [up] and go ·south [or at about noon] to the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem [C a distance of about fifty miles]—the ·desert [wilderness] road.”
8:27 So Philip got ·ready [up] and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia [C not present-day Ethiopia (Abyssinia), but Nubia in northern Sudan], a eunuch [or court official; C royal servants were sometimes made eunuchs (castrated males), especially if they served in the presence of females]. He was an important officer in the service of ·Candace [or the Kandáke; C a title, not a name, meaning “queen”], the queen of the Ethiopians; he was responsible for ·taking care of all her money [her entire treasury]. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship.
8:28 Now, as he was on his way home, he was sitting in his chariot reading from the ·Book of Isaiah, the prophet [L the prophet Isaiah].
8:29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and ·stay near [join] it.”
8:30 So when Philip ran toward the chariot, he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet [C ancient peoples generally read aloud]. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
8:31 He answered, “How can I understand unless someone ·explains it to [guides; directs] me?” Then he ·invited [urged] Philip to climb in and sit with him.
8:32 The portion of Scripture he was reading was this: “He was like a sheep being led to ·be killed [L the slaughter]. He was quiet, as a lamb is quiet ·while its wool is being cut [L before its shearer]; he never opened his mouth.
8:33 He was shamed and was treated ·unfairly [unjustly]. ·He died without children to continue his family [L Who can describe his generation?; C having no descendants was a mark of shame and failure]. [L For] His life on earth ·has ended [was taken away; Is. 53:7–8].”
8:34 The ·officer [L eunuch] said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about—himself or someone else [C the idea of a suffering messiah was not commonly understood in Judaism]?”
8:35 Philip ·began to speak [L opened his mouth], and starting with this same Scripture, he told the man the ·Good News [Gospel] about Jesus.
8:36 While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The ·officer [L eunuch] said, “Look, here is water. What is ·stopping [preventing] me from being baptized?”
8:37 | Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”|
8:38 Then the officer commanded the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the ·officer [L eunuch] went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
8:39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord ·took [snatched; carried] Philip away; the officer ·never [or no longer] saw him again. And the ·officer [L eunuch] continued on his way home, ·full of joy [rejoicing].
8:40 But Philip ·appeared [or found himself; L was found] in a city called Azotus [C another name for Ashdod, just to the north of Gaza] and ·preached [proclaimed] the ·Good News [Gospel] in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea [C a city further north up the coast].
Your support helps pay our hosting costs, and
- with a little bit extra -
lets us pay transcribers and proofreaders.
If you can help, Click here to become a Patreon:
www.patreon.com/IslamAwakened Thank you!