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Acts 8
1. Saul, however, was in consent and associated with the killing. And on that
day there was much rejection of the church in Jerusalem. And they all scattered in
the villages of Judea, and also among the Samaritans, with the exception of the apostles.*
2. And they took and buried Stephen, faithful men who greatly lamented him.
3. Saul then persecuted the church of God, as he entered the houses and dragged the
men and women, and delivered them to prison.
4. And those who scattered, went around and preached the manifestation of God.
5. Philip went down to the Samaritan's town, and he preached to them about the Messiah.
6. And as they heard his manifestation, those people there, they listened to him,
and they pacified everyone who said anything, as they saw the miracles he performed.
7. For many of them were possessed by evil spirits that cried out in a loud voice,
and he cast them out. And other paralytics and cripples were healed.
8. And there was great joy in that town.
9. There was a man whose name was Seamon, however, who was a resident of that town
for a long time, and he misled the Samaritan people with his sorcery, while he exalted
himself and said, "I am great!"
10. And all the great and small went down before him and said, "He has great
power from God."*
11. And they were all at peace with him, because for a long time he kept them in
awe with his sorcery.
12. As they believed Philip, who preached* the Kingdom of God in the name of Lord
Jesus Christ, the men and women were being baptized.
13. And this Seamon also believed and was baptized and came out to Philip, and as
he saw the miracles and great powers that were performed through his hand, he was
awed and amazed.
14. And as the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritan people accepted the
manifestation of God, they sent to them Simon Keepa [Peter] and John.
15. For it was not yet [bestowed] on one of them. However, they had only been baptized
[by water] in the name of Lord Jesus.
16. And they went down and prayed so as they may receive the holy Spirit,
17. Then they consecrated the hand over them, and they received the holy Spirit.
18. And when Seamon saw that by the consecration of the apostles' hand the holy Spirit
was bestowed, he offered them money,
19. As he said, "Give me also this authority that whomever I lay a hand on,
becomes the recipient of the holy Spirit."
20. Simon Keepa [Peter] told him, "Your money shall perish* with you, because
you expect the gift of God is earned by the wealth of this world.*
21. "You have no obligation or lot in this faith, because your heart is not
true before God.
22. "Therefore, repent from this evil of yours, and pray to God that he may
not allow the treachery in your heart to remain.
23. "For I see you are filled with bitterness of gall and in the throes of abomination."
24. Seamon replied and said, "Pray on my behalf to God that these things do
not befall me."
25. Simon and John then, as they testified to these and taught the manifestation
of God, returned to Jerusalem. And they preached the hope [of the Kingdom] in many
Samaritan villages.
26. And the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip and told him, "Get up and go to
the south by the desert route that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."
27. And he got up and went, and he saw a trustee, one who had come from Ethiopia,
a functionary of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. And he was in charge of all her
treasury, and he had come to worship at Jerusalem.
28. And as he set off to go, he sat in the chariot and read in [the Book of] Isaiah
the prophet.
29. And the Spirit told Philip, "Approach and catch up with the chariot."
30. And as he approached, he heard that he was reading from the prophet Isaiah. And
he said to him, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31. And he said, "How can I understand it, unless someone* instructs me?"
And he begged Philip to get up and sit with him.
32. The passage in the Book that he read was this,
"Like a ram to be slaughtered, he was fetched,
And like a sheep before its sheerer, he was silent,
and so he did not open
his mouth,
33. "In his gentleness; and out of their spite,
they found him guilty;
And who will minister to his suffering?
As his life was taken from
the earth."
34. And the trustee said to Philip, "I beg you, about whom
did the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"*
35. Then Philip opened his mouth and explained* to him this Scripture [and] preached
to him about the Lord Jesus.
36. And as they went along the way, they arrived at a place where there was water,
(and) that trustee said, "Behold, [here is] water, why not stop to get baptized?"
37. And Philip said, "If you believe with all [your] heart, it is possible*."
And he replied and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
38. And he ordered the chariot to stop*, and they both went down to the water, and
Philip baptized the trustee.
39. And as he went out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord, lifted up Philip, and
the trustee did not see him anymore, except he went on his way joyously.
40. Philip, however, reappeared in Azotus, and from there he went around preaching
in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Acts 9 || index page
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