Acts

¹Now Saul was in full agreement with Stephen’s¹³⁷⁴ death. At that time, a great persecution arose against the Church which was in Jerusalem. The disciples¹³⁷⁵ were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. ²Devout men buried Stephen and greatly lamented over him. ³In the meantime, Saul was ravaging the Church, entering into every house and dragging both men and women off to prison.

Philip in Samaria—Simon the sorcerer

⁴As a result, those who had been scattered abroad began to travel around, preaching the word. ⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them. ⁶When the people heard and saw the signs which Philip was accomplishing, they agreed to listen to what he was preaching. ⁷(Indeed, unclean spirits were expelled from many of those who had them, and they came out shouting with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed, ⁸and there was great joy in that city).

⁹But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city. He amazed the people of Samaria, claiming to be a great one, ¹⁰and all listened to him, from the least to the greatest. They said, “This man is the great power of God!” ¹¹People listened to him because for a long time, he had amazed them with his sorceries. ¹²But when they believed Philip [who was] preaching good tidings, the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³Simon himself also believed and after his baptism, he followed Philip closely. Seeing that miracles and signs were taking place, he was amazed.

¹⁴Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵When they arrived, they prayed for the people,¹³⁷⁶ so that they might receive [the]¹³⁷⁷ Holy Spirit ¹⁶because the Holy Spirit¹³⁷⁸ had not yet come upon any of them. (They had only been baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus). ¹⁷Then Peter and John¹³⁷⁹ laid their hands on them, and they received [the] Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Holy¹³⁸⁰ Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, so that whoever I lay my hands on may receive [the]¹³⁸¹ Holy Spirit!” ²⁰But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹You have no part or share in this {ministry} because your heart is not right before God. ²²Repent of this wickedness of yours and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³Indeed, I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of wickedness!”

²⁴Simon answered, “Pray for me to God, that none of the things which you have spoken [may] happen to me.”

²⁵After Peter and John had borne witness and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and {on their way} preached the Good News in many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian

²⁶Then an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south, to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”

²⁷So Philip arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was in charge of all her treasure and had come to Jerusalem to express adoration.^{1382 28}He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and reading the prophet Isaias (Isaiah).

²⁹The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.”

³⁰Philip ran to the eunuch and heard him reading Isaias the prophet. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹The man replied, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He then begged Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this:

He was led as a sheep to the slaughter.

As a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth.

³³In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away.

And who will declare His generation?

For his life is taken from the earth.¹³⁸³

³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, “Who is the prophet talking about? About himself, or about someone else?”

³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, he proclaimed {the Good News about} Jesus to this man. ³⁶As they went on the way, they came to [a place with] some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water! What is keeping me from being baptized?”

³⁷<Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The man answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God!”>^{1384 38}He commanded the chariot to stand still, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch did not see him any more and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip was found at Azotus. Passing through [that area], he preached the Good News to all the cities, until he reached Caesarea.

Road to Damascus: Saul’s conversion and baptism

1374. Greek “his”
1375. Greek “they”
1376. Greek “them”
1377. The Greek actually uses the indefinite, which means that the most literal translation would be “receive a h/Holy s/Spirit”
1378. Greek “he” or “it”
1379. Greek “they”
1380. CT omits “Holy”
1381. The Greek actually uses the indefinite, which means that the most literal and accurate translation would be “receive a h/Holy s/Spirit”
1382. proskuneo can also be translated “worship (in the broad sense),” “venerate,” “fall down in reverence,” “do obeisance” (see NT introduction regarding proskuneo)
1383. Isaias 53:7,8 LXX, read at the Prokomede (preparation of the gifts before Liturgy).
1384. CT and MT omit this verse which is found in PT and TR.