¹⁸Simon saw that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered Peter and John money ¹⁹and said, “Give me this power so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰Peter told Simon, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy God’s gift. ²¹You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is. ²²So change your wicked thoughts, and ask the Lord if he will forgive you for thinking like this. ²³I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and wrapped up in your evil ways.”

²⁴Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you said will happen to me.”

²⁵After they had boldly spoken about the message of the Lord, they spread the Good News in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem.

Philip Tells an Ethiopian about Jesus

²⁶An angel from the Lord said to Philip, “Get up, and take the desert road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷So Philip went.

An Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship was on his way home. The man was a eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. ²⁸As the official rode along in his carriage, he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.

²⁹The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that carriage, and stay close to it.”

³⁰Philip ran to the carriage and could hear the official reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

³¹The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to sit with him in his carriage.

³²This was the part of the Scriptures that the official was reading:

“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

He was like a sheep that is silent

when its wool is cut off.

He didn’t open his mouth.

³³When he humbled himself,

he was not judged fairly.

Who from his generation

will talk about his life on earth being cut short?”

³⁴The official said to Philip, “I would like to know who the prophet is talking about. Is he talking about himself or someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip spoke. Starting with that passage, Philip told the official the Good News about Jesus.

³⁶As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The official said to Philip, “Look, there’s some water. What can keep me from being baptized?”^a³⁸The official ordered the carriage to stop. He and Philip stepped into the water, and Philip baptized him. ³⁹When they had stepped out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official joyfully continued on his way and didn’t see Philip again.

⁴⁰Philip found himself in the city of Azotus. He traveled through all the cities and spread the Good News until he came to the city of Caesarea.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

a 8:36 Some manuscripts and translations add verse 37: “Philip said to the official, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you can be baptized.’ The official answered, ‘I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ ”