Acts 8 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Now Saul was consenting to his death.

At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and ^(A)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ²And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and ^(B)made great lamentation over him.

³As for Saul, ^(C)he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.

Christ Is Preached in Samaria

⁴Therefore ^(D)those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. ⁵Then ^(E)Philip went down to ^[a]the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. ⁶And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. ⁷For ^(F)unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸And there was great joy in that city.

The Sorcerer’s Profession of Faith

⁹But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously ^(G)practiced ^[b]sorcery in the city and ^(H)astonished the ^[c]people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, ¹⁰to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” ¹¹And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his ^[d]sorceries for a long time. ¹²But when they believed Philip as he preached the things ^(I)concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

The Sorcerer’s Sin

¹⁴Now when the ^(J)apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, ¹⁵who, when they had come down, prayed for them ^(K)that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶For ^(L)as yet He had fallen upon none of them. ^(M)They had only been baptized in ^(N)the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then ^(O)they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because ^(P)you thought that ^(Q)the gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your ^(R)heart is not right in the sight of God. ²²Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God ^(S)if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³For I see that you are ^(T)poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

²⁴Then Simon answered and said, ^(U)“Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

²⁵So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

Christ Is Preached to an Ethiopian^(V)

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord spoke to ^(W)Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is ^[e]desert. ²⁷So he arose and went. And behold, ^(X)a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and ^(Y)had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

³⁰So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. ³²The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

^(Z)“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
^(AA)So He opened not His mouth.
³³In His humiliation His ^(AB)justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is ^(AC)taken from the earth.”

³⁴So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, ^(AD)and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. ³⁶Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. ^(AE)What hinders me from being baptized?”

³⁷^[f]Then Philip said, ^(AF)“If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

And he answered and said, ^(AG)“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

³⁸So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. ³⁹Now when they came up out of the water, ^(AH)the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰But Philip was found at ^[g]Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to ^(AI)Caesarea.

Footnotes

Acts 8:5 Or a
Acts 8:9 magic
Acts 8:9 Or nation
Acts 8:11 magic arts
Acts 8:26 Or a deserted place
Acts 8:37 NU, M omit v. 37. It is found in Western texts, including the Latin tradition.
Acts 8:40 Same as Heb. Ashdod

Cross references

Acts 8 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

8 And Saul was assenting to his death, and there came in that day a great persecution upon the assembly in Jerusalem, all also were scattered abroad in the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles; 2 and devout men carried away Stephen, and made great lamentation over him; 3 and Saul was ma...
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Acts 8 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

8 But Saul was consenting to his death. And great persecution was made that day in the church, that was in Jerusalem. And all men were scattered by the countries of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 But good men buried Stephen [Forsooth men dread-full buried Stephen], and made great mourni...
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Acts 8 - Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)

8 Saul agreed to Stephen being killed. At that time the church people at Jerusalem had much trouble. The church people all went into Judea and Samaria. Only the apostles stayed on at Jerusalem. 2 Good men buried Stephen. They were very sad because he died. 3 Saul made much trouble for the church peo...
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Acts 8 - World English Bible (WEB)

8 Saul was consenting to his death. A great persecution arose against the assembly which was in Jerusalem in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him. 3 But Saul ravaged ...
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Acts 8 - The Voice (VOICE)

Stephen’s sermon weaves together the story of the Jews and the life of Jesus. The point of the message is that God pursues His children despite their constant failure. The crucifixion of Jesus is the greatest of all of these failures.Stephen affirms that through circumcision they have made themselve...
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Acts 8 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Saul Persecutes Messiah’s Community8 Now Saul was in agreement with Stephen’s execution. On that day a great persecution arose against Messiah’s community in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the emissaries. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen an...
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Acts 8 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

8 1 And Saul was consenting to his death.Saul Persecutes the ChurchAnd on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samar′ia, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over h...
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Acts 8 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Acts 8 - Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)

8 And Saul consented to his death. And at that time, there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles. 2 Then God-fearing men carried Stephen to be buried and made great lamentation f...
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Acts 8 - New Testament for Everyone (NTE)

8 Now Saul was giving his consent to Stephen’s death.That very day a great persecution was started against the church in Jerusalem. Everyone except the apostles was scattered through the lands of Judaea and Samaria. 2 Devout men buried Stephen, and made a great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was...
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Acts 8 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

8 1 And Saul approved of their killing him.Saul Persecutes the ChurchThat day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. 3 B...
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Acts 8 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

Acts 8 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Acts 8 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

8 1 And Saul approved of their killing him.Saul Persecutes the ChurchThat day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.(A)2 Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.(B)3 ...
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Acts 8 - New Matthew Bible (NMB)

Saul persecutes the Christians. The apostles are scattered abroad. Philip comes into Samaria. Simon Magus is baptized; he dissembles. Philip baptizes the chamberlain. 8 Saul had pleasure in Stephen’s death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the congregation that was at Jerusalem...
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Acts 8 - New Living Translation (NLT)

8 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.Persecution Scatters the BelieversA great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria...
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Acts 8 - New Life Version (NLV)

It Is Hard for the Christians in Jerusalem8 Saul thought it was all right that Stephen was killed. On that day people started to work very hard against the church in Jerusalem. All the followers, except the missionaries, were made to leave. They went to parts of the countries of Judea and Samaria. ...
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