[5] Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. [6] When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. [7] For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. [8] So there was great joy in that city. [9] Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, [10] and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” [11] They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. [12] But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. [13] Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. [14] When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. [15] When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, [16] because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [17] Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
