Acts 8:12–17

8:12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God25 and the name of Jesus Christ,26 they began to be baptized,27 both men and women. 8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to28 Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed.29

8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem30 heard that Samaria had accepted the word31 of God, they sent32 Peter and John to them. 8:15 These two33 went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 8:16 (For the Spirit34 had not yet come upon35 any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)36 8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans,37 and they received the Holy Spirit.38

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25	sn The kingdom of God is also what Jesus preached: Acts 1:3. The term reappears in 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31.
26	tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
27	tn The imperfect verb ἐβαπτίζοντο (ebaptizonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
28	tn Or “he kept close company with.”
29	sn He was amazed. Now Simon, the one who amazed others, is himself amazed, showing the superiority of Philip’s connection to God. Christ is better than anything the culture has to offer.
30	map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
31	tn Or “message.”
32	sn They sent. The Jerusalem church with the apostles was overseeing the expansion of the church, as the distribution of the Spirit indicates in vv. 15–17.
33	tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the phrase “these two” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.
34	tn Grk “For he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35	tn Or “fallen on.”
36	sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
37	tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the Samaritans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38	sn They received the Holy Spirit. It is likely this special distribution of the Spirit took place because a key ethnic boundary was being crossed. Here are some of “those far off” of Acts 2:38–40.