Acts, 8

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.

1. Saul was there, approving his murder. This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. All, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria.

2. And devout men carried Stephen [to his burial], and made great lamentation over him.

2. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

3. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed [them] to prison.

3. Saul meanwhile was trying to destroy the Church; he entered house after house and dragged off men and women and had them put in jail.

4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

4. At the same time those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

5. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

5. Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.

6. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

6. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him and saw the miraculous signs 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.

7. For in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralyzed or crippled were healed.

8. And there was great joy in that city.

8. So there was great joy in that town.

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:

9. A certain man named Simon had come to this town, practicing magic. He held the Samaritans spellbound and passed himself off as a very important person.

10. To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

10. All the people, from the last to the greatest, put their trust in him, saying, "This is the Power of God, the Great One."

11. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

11. And they followed him because he had held them under the spell of his magic for a long time.

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.

12. But when they came to believe Philip who announced to them the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ as Savior, both men and women were baptized.

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.

13. Simon himself believed and was baptized, and would not depart from Philip. He was astonished when he saw the miraculous signs and wonders that happened.

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:

14. Now, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

15. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

15. They went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

16. (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

16. for he had not as yet come down upon any of them since they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

17. Then laid they [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

17. So Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

18. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

18. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money

19. Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

19. saying, "Give me also this power, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

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.

20. Peter replied, "May you and your money perish for thinking that the Gift of God could be bought with money!

21. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

21. You cannot share in this since you do not understand the things of God.

22. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

22. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that you may be forgiven such a wrong way of thinking;

23. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and [in] the bond of iniquity.

23. I see you are poisoned with bitterness and in the grip of sin."

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.

24. Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that none of these things you spoke of will happen to 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.

25. Peter and John gave their testimony and spoke the word of the Lord. And they went back to Jerusalem, bringing the Good News to many Samaritan villages along the way.

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.

26. An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south towards the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road."

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,

27. So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians; he had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem

28. Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

28. and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah.

29. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

29. The Spirit said to Philip, "Go and catch up with that carriage."

30. And Philip ran thither to [him], and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

30. So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, "Do you really understand what you are reading?" The Ethiopian replied,

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.

31. "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside 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:

32. This was the passage of Scripture he was reading: He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, he did not open 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.

33. He was humbled and deprived of his rights. Who can speak of his descendants? For he was uprooted 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?

34. The official asked Philip, "Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of someone else?"

35. Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

35. Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point.

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?

36. As they traveled down the road they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, "Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being 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.

37.

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.

38. Then he ordered the carriage to stop; both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip 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.

39. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.

40. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

40. Philip found himself at Azotus, and he went about announcing the Good News in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.