Acts 8:5–17

⁵Philip went to the principal city^h in Samaria and preached the Messiah to the people there. ⁶The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said, as they listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. ⁷Evil spirits came out from many people with a loud cry, and many paralysed and lame people were healed. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

⁹A man named Simon lived there, who for some time had astounded the Samaritans with his magic. He claimed that he was someone great, ¹⁰and everyone in the city, from all classes of society, paid close attention to him. “He is that power of God known as ‘The Great Power’,” they said. ¹¹They paid this attention to him because for such a long time he had astonished them with his magic. ¹²But when they believed Philip’s message about the good news of the Kingdom of God and about Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³Simon himself also believed; and after being baptized, he stayed close to Philip and was astounded when he saw the great wonders and miracles that were being performed.

¹⁴The apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had received the word of God, so they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵When they arrived, they prayed for the believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.