사도행전 8

The church scattered

¹Saul, for his part, gave his full approval to Stephen’s death.

That same day a fierce persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles was driven out into the country districts of Judea and Samaria. ²Some devout men gave Stephen a burial and mourned loudly for him. ³Saul, however, set about destroying the church. He went from house to house, hauled off men and women alike, and had them put in prison.

Philip in Samaria

⁴Those who had been scattered went from place to place, announcing the good news of the message. ⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began to proclaim the Christ to the people there.^{a 6}The crowds, one and all, listened closely to what Philip said, as they heard him and saw the signs he performed. ⁷Unclean spirits came out of many people, shrieking as they left, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

Simon, who practiced magic

⁹Now there was a man named Simon who had been in the city for some time, working magic and astonishing the people of Samaria. He made himself out to be someone great, ¹⁰and everyone, from the least to the most important, hung on his words. “This man,” they said, “is the power of God that is called Great.” ¹¹They followed him because for a long while he had dazzled them with his magic. ¹²But when Philip announced the good news of God’s kingdom and of the name of Jesus Christ, they believed him, and both men and women were baptized. ¹³Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized he stayed close to Philip. When he saw the signs and great miracles that were happening, he was astounded.

¹⁴When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵The two went down and prayed for the people there to receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶for the Spirit had not yet come down on any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, and he offered them money. ¹⁹“Let me have this power too,” he said, “so that whoever I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰Peter answered him, “To ruin with you and your silver! You thought you could get the gift of God with money. ²¹You have no part or portion in this, because in God’s eyes your heart is not right. ²²So turn from this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord. It may be that he will forgive you for what you had in your heart, ²³For I can see that you are full of bitter poison and bound by wrongdoing.” ²⁴Simon replied, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that none of the things you have said will happen to me.”

²⁵After Peter and John had borne witness and spoken the word of the Lord, they set out back to Jerusalem, announcing the good news in many Samaritan villages on the way.

Philip and the Ethiopian official

²⁶An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get ready and head south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)^{bc 27}So Philip got up and went. And there on the road was a man from Ethiopia, a eunuch, a high official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸and now he was on his way home, seated in his chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹The Spirit told Philip, “Go up to that chariot and stay with it.” ³⁰Philip ran over to him and heard him reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah. “Do you know what it is you are reading?” he asked. ³¹“How could I,” he said, “if no one guides me?” He asked Philip to climb up and sit beside him. ³²The passage of Scripture he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led away to be slaughtered, and like a lamb that makes no sound while it is sheared, he did not open his mouth. ³³When he was humiliated, justice was denied him. Who can speak of his descendants?^de For his life is taken away from the earth.” ³⁴The eunuch said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about here? Is he speaking of himself, or of another person?” ³⁵Then Philip spoke up. Starting from that very Scripture, he made Jesus known to him as good news. ³⁶As they traveled on along the road, they came to some water. “There is water here!” the eunuch exclaimed. “Is there any reason I should not be baptized?”^{f 38}He gave orders to halt the chariot, and the two of them, 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 suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch did not see him again, but he traveled on with a glad heart.^{g 40}Philip, for his part, turned up at Azotus. He went on through the region, announcing the good news in every town until he reached Caesarea.