Acts 8:5–40

⁵Then ^ePhilip went down to ¹the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷For ^funclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸And there was great joy in that city.

The Sorcerer’s Profession of Faith

⁹But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously ^gpracticed ²sorcery in the city and ^hastonished the ³people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his ⁴sorceries for a long time. ¹²But when they believed Philip as he preached the things ⁱconcerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴Now when the ^japostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵who, when they had come down, prayed for them ^kthat they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For ^las yet He had fallen upon none of them. ^mThey had only been baptized in ⁿthe name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then ^othey laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because ^pyou thought that ^qthe gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your ^rheart is not right in the sight of God. ²²Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God ^sif perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³For I see that you are ^tpoisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

²⁴Then Simon answered and said, ^u“Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

²⁵So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Christ is Preached to an Ethiopian

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord spoke to ^vPhilip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is ⁵desert. ²⁷So he arose and went. And behold, ^wa man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and ^xhad come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

³⁰So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

^y“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;

And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

^zSo He opened not His mouth.

³³In His humiliation His ^ajustice was taken away,

And who will declare His generation?

For His life is ^btaken from the earth.”

³⁴So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, ^cand beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. ³⁶Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. ^dWhat hinders me from being baptized?”

³⁷⁶Then Philip said, ^e“If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, ^f“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

³⁸So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. ³⁹Now when they came up out of the water, ^gthe Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip was found at ⁷Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to ^hCaesarea.