Acts 8:1-40 TLB

[1] Paul was in complete agreement with the killing of Stephen. And a great wave of persecution of the believers began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled into Judea and Samaria. [2] (But some godly Jews came and with great sorrow buried Stephen.) [3] Paul was like a wild man, going everywhere to devastate the believers, even entering private homes and dragging out men and women alike and jailing them. [4] But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus! [5] Philip, for instance, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about Christ. [6] Crowds listened intently to what he had to say because of the miracles he did. [7] Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed, [8] so there was much joy in that city! [9] A man named Simon had formerly been a sorcerer there for many years; he was a very influential, proud man because of the amazing things he could do-in fact, the Samaritan people often spoke of him as the Messiah. [12] But now they believed Philip's message that Jesus was the Messiah, and his words concerning the Kingdom of God; and many men and women were baptized. [13] Then Simon himself believed and was baptized and began following Philip wherever he went, and was amazed by the miracles he did. [14] When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent down Peter and John. [15] As soon as they arrived, they began praying for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit, [16] for as yet he had not come upon any of them. For they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. [18] When Simon saw this-that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people's heads-he offered money to buy this power. [19] "Let me have this power too," he exclaimed, "so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!" [20] But Peter replied, "Your money perish with you for thinking God's gift can be bought! [21] You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right before God. [22] Turn from this great wickedness and pray. Perhaps God will yet forgive your evil thoughts- [23] for I can see that there is jealousy and sin in your heart." [24] "Pray for me," Simon exclaimed, "that these terrible things won't happen to me." [25] After testifying and preaching in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, stopping at several Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News to them too. [26] But as for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, "Go over to the road that runs from Jerusalem through the Gaza Desert, arriving around noon." [27] So he did, and who should be coming down the road but the Treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship [28] and was now returning in his chariot, reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. [29] The Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and walk along beside the chariot." [30] Philip ran over and heard what he was reading and asked, "Do you understand it?" [31] "Of course not!" the man replied. "How can I when there is no one to instruct me?" And he begged Philip to come up into the chariot and sit with him. [32] The passage of Scripture he had been reading from was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before the shearers, so he opened not his mouth; [33] in his humiliation, justice was denied him; and who can express the wickedness of the people of his generation? For his life is taken from the earth." [34] The eunuch asked Philip, "Was Isaiah talking about himself or someone else?" [35] So Philip began with this same Scripture and then used many others to tell him about Jesus. [36] As they rode along, they came to a small body of water, and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! Why can't I be baptized?" [37] "You can," Philip answered, "if you believe with all your heart." And the eunuch replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." [38] He stopped the chariot, and they went down into the water and Philip baptized him. [39] And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch never saw him again, but went on his way rejoicing. [40] Meanwhile, Philip found himself at Azotus! He preached the Good News there and in every city along the way, as he traveled to Caesarea.