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1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
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2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
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3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
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4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
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5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
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6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
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7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
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8 And there was great joy in that city.
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9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
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10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
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11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
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12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
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13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
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14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
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15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
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16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
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17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
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18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
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19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
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20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
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21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
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22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
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23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
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24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the LORD for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
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25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
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26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
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27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
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28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
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29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
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30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
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31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
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32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
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33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
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34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
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35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
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36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
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37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
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38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
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39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
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40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
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- 1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
- 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.
- 3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.
- 4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
- 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.
- 6 The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.
- 7 For 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 and lame were healed.
- 8 So there was much rejoicing in that city.
- 9 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great;
- 10 and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.”
- 11 And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.
- 12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.
- 13 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 constantly amazed.
- 14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,
- 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
- 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
- 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
- 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,
- 19 saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
- 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
- 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
- 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
- 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
- 24 But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
- 25 So, 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.
- 26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)
- 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,
- 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
- 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”
- 30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
- 31 And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
- 32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
- 33 “IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.”
- 34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?”
- 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.
- 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
- 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.”]
- 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
- 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
- 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.
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