Saul Persecutes the Church

1Now Saul approved of putting [a]Stephen to death.

And on that day a great persecution [b]began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. 2Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him. 3But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would drag away men and women and put them in prison.

Philip in Samaria

4Therefore, those who had been scattered went through places [c]preaching the word. 5Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming the [d]Christ to them. 6The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what was being said by Philip, as they heard and saw the [e]signs which he was performing. 7For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed or limped on crutches were healed. 8So there was much rejoicing in that city.

9Now a man named Simon had previously been practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; 10and all the people, from small to great, were paying attention to him, saying, “This man is the Power of God that is called Great.” 11And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic arts. 12But when they believed Philip as he was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized. 13Now even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was repeatedly amazed.

14Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15who came down and prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 16(For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized [f]in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this [g]matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22Therefore, repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart will be forgiven you. 23For I see that you are [h]in the gall of bitterness and in the [i]bondage of unrighteousness.” 24But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

25So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

26But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go [j]south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ([k]This is a desert road.) 27So he got ready and went; and [l]there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of [m]Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28and he was returning and sitting in his [n]chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this [o]chariot.” 30Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

“HE WAS LED LIKE A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER;

AND LIKE A LAMB THAT IS SILENT BEFORE ITS SHEARER,

SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.

33“IN HUMILIATION HIS JUSTICE WAS TAKEN AWAY;

WHO WILL [p]DESCRIBE HIS [q]GENERATION?

FOR HIS LIFE IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EARTH.” 34The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”[r] 38And he ordered that the [s]chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, [t]but went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip [u]found himself at [v]Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.

[a] 1 Lit him
[b] 1 Lit occurred
[c] 4 Or bringing the good news of
[d] 5 I.e., Messiah
[e] 6 I.e., confirming miracles
[f] 16 Lit into
[g] 21 Or teaching; lit word
[h] 23 Or doomed to the
[i] 23 Lit bond
[j] 26 Or at about noon to
[k] 26 Or This city is deserted
[l] 27 Lit behold, an Ethiopian
[m] 27 Possibly an Ethiopian title: the Candace
[n] 28 Or carriage
[o] 29 Or carriage
[p] 33 Or relate
[q] 33 Or family history
[r] 36 Late mss add as v 37: And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
[s] 38 Or carriage
[t] 39 Lit for he was going
[u] 40 Or was found
[v] 40 OT: Ashdod