Acts 8:1–13

Saul was there. He had agreed that Stephen should die.

The Church Is Scattered

On that day the church in Jerusalem began to be attacked and treated badly. All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

²Godly Jews buried Stephen. They sobbed and sobbed over him.

³But Saul began to destroy the church. He went from house to house. He dragged men and women away and put them in prison.

Philip Goes to Samaria

⁴The believers who had been scattered preached the word everywhere they went. ⁵Philip went down to a city in Samaria. There he preached about the Christ. ⁶The crowds listened to Philip. They saw the miraculous signs he did. They all paid close attention to what he said. ⁷Evil spirits screamed and came out of many people. Many who were disabled or who couldn’t walk were healed. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

Simon the Evil Magician

⁹A man named Simon lived in the city. For quite a while he had practiced evil magic there. He amazed all the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great. ¹⁰All of the people listened to him, from the least important of them to the most important. They exclaimed, “This man is known as the Great Power of God!” ¹¹He had amazed them for a long time with his magic. So they followed him.

¹²But Philip preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He preached the name of Jesus Christ. So men and women believed and were baptized. ¹³Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip everywhere. He was amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.