Dual Panel1Saul was among those who approved of his execution.
The church in Judaea and Samaria
THAT day was the beginning of a time of violent persecution for the church in Jerusalem; and all except the apostles were scattered over the country districts of Judaea and Samaria.
2Stephen was given burial by devout men, who made a great lamentation for him.
3Saul, meanwhile, was harrying the church; he entered house after house, seizing men and women and sending them to prison.
4As for those who had been scattered, they went through the country preaching the word.
5Philip came down to a city in Samaria and began proclaiming the Messiah there.
6As the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, everyone paid close attention to what he had to say.
7In many cases of possession the unclean spirits came out with a loud cry, and many paralysed and crippled folk were cured;
8and there was great rejoicing in that city.
9A man named Simon had been in the city for some time and had captivated the Samaritans with his magical arts, making large claims for himself.
10Everybody, high and low, listened intently to him. “This man”, they said, “is that power of God which is called ‘The Great Power’.”
11They listened because they had for so long been captivated by his magic.
12But when they came to believe Philip, with his good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized.
13Even Simon himself believed, and after his baptism was constantly in Philip's company. He was captivated when he saw the powerful signs and miracles that were taking place.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent off Peter and John,
15who went down there and prayed for the converts, asking that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16Until then the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, that and nothing more.
17So Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon observed that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money
19and said, “Give me too the same power, so that anyone I lay my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter replied, “You thought God's gift was for sale? Your money can go with you to damnation!
21You have neither part nor share in this, for you are corrupt in the eyes of God.
22Repent of this wickedness of yours and pray the Lord to forgive you for harbouring such a thought.
23I see that bitter gall and the chains of sin will be your fate.”
24Simon said to them, “Pray to the Lord for me, and ask that none of the things you have spoken of may befall me.”
25After giving their testimony and speaking the word of the Lord, they took the road back to Jerusalem, bringing the good news to many Samaritan villages on the way.
26Then the angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Start out and go south to the road that leads down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.)
27He set out and was on his way when he caught sight of an Ethiopian. This man was a eunuch, a high official of the Kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia, in charge of all her treasure; he had been to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage
28and was now returning home, sitting in his carriage and reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah.
29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and meet the carriage.”
30When Philip ran up he heard him reading from the prophet Isaiah and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31He said, “How can I without someone to guide me?” and invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.
32The passage he was reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, he does not open his mouth.
33He has been humiliated and has no redress. Who will be able to speak of his posterity? For he is cut off from the world of the living.”
34“Please tell me”, said the eunuch to Philip, “who it is that the prophet is speaking about here: himself or someone else?”
35Then Philip began and, starting from this passage, he told him the good news of Jesus.
36As they were going along the road, they came to some water. “Look,” said the eunuch, “here is water: what is to prevent my being baptized?”
37[[EMPTY]]
38and he ordered the carriage to stop. Then they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
39When they came up from the water the Spirit snatched Philip away; the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
40Philip appeared at Azotus, and toured the country, preaching in all the towns till he reached Caesarea.