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1Saul had agreed that Stephen should die.
On that day an attack began against the church in Jerusalem. The believers, except for the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2Godly people buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
3But Saul began to destroy the church. He went from house to house and dragged out men and women and put them in prison.
4The believers who’d been scattered preached the word everywhere they went.
5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and preached there about the Messiah.
6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he did, they all paid close attention to his words.
7With screams, evil spirits came out of many people, and others who were disabled or couldn’t walk were healed.
8So there was great joy in that city.
9For quite a while a man named Simon had lived in that city and practiced evil magic there. This had amazed all the people of Samaria. He was claiming to be someone great,
10and all the people, rich and poor, listened to him. They shouted, “This man is right to claim that he’s the Great Power of God!”
11They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his evil magic.
12But when Philip announced the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, many men and women believed and were baptized.
13Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip everywhere and was amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that people in Samaria had accepted God’s word, they sent Peter and John there.
15When they arrived, they prayed that the new believers would receive the Holy Spirit.
16The Holy Spirit hadn’t come on any of them yet. They’d only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17But when Peter and John placed their hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands on people, he offered them money.
19He said, “Give me this power, too, so that everyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter answered, “May you and your money both be destroyed because you think you can buy God’s gift with it!
21You have no part or share in this holy work. Your heart is not right with God.
22Turn away from your sin and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
23I can see that you’re very bitter and that you’re being held prisoner by sin.”
24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that nothing you’ve said will happen to me.”
25After Peter and John had preached the word of the Lord some more and told other people about Jesus, they returned to Jerusalem. On the way back they preached the good news in many villages in Samaria.
26An angel of the Lord told Philip. “Go south to the desert road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza.”
27So Philip started out, and on the way he met an important official. That man was in charge of all the wealth of the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28and on his way back he was sitting in his chariot reading out loud from the Book of Isaiah the prophet.
29The Holy Spirit told Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay near it.”
30So Philip ran up to the chariot. He heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet and asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31“How can I,” he replied, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32Here is the part of Scripture that the official was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to be killed.
Just as lambs are silent while their wool is being cut off,
he did not open his mouth.
33He was treated badly and denied a fair trial.
Who can say anything about his children?
His life was cut off from the earth.”
34The official asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself, or someone else?”
35Then Philip told him the good news about Jesus, starting with that same part of Scripture.
36-37As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look! Here’s some water! What can keep me from being baptized?”
38He gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official 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 official did not see him again, but he went on his way filled with joy.
40Philip was seen next at Azotus. From there he traveled all around, preaching the good news in every town until he arrived in Caesarea.