Acts 8:25–35

²⁵After they had given their testimony and proclaimed the Lord’s message, Peter and John went back to Jerusalem. On their way they preached the Good News in many villages of Samaria.

Philip and the Ethiopian Official

²⁶An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ready and go southⁱ to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This road is not used nowadays.)^{j 27–28}So Philip got ready and went. Now an Ethiopian eunuch, who was an important official in charge of the treasury of the queen of Ethiopia, was on his way home. He had been to Jerusalem to worship God and was going back home in his carriage. As he rode along, he was reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that carriage and stay close to it.” ³⁰Philip ran over and heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. He asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹The official replied, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to climb up and sit in the carriage with him. ^32*The passage of scripture which he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep that is taken to be slaughtered,

like a lamb that makes no sound when its wool is cut off,

he did not say a word.

^33*He was humiliated, and justice was denied him.

No one will be able to tell about his descendants,

because his life on earth has come to an end.”

³⁴The official asked Philip, “Tell me, of whom is the prophet saying this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip began to speak; starting from this passage of scripture, he told him the Good News about Jesus.