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Greek: New Testament (NAS)
English: John Barach
Chapter 8
Persecution and the Scattering
1  Σαῦλος δὲ ἦν συνευδοκῶν τῇ ἀναιρέσει αὐτοῦ. Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ διωγμὸς μέγας ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις, πάντες δὲ διεσπάρησαν κατὰ τὰς χώρας τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Σαμαρείας πλὴν τῶν ἀποστόλων. 2  συνεκόμισαν δὲ τὸν Στέφανον ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς καὶ ἐποίησαν κοπετὸν μέγαν ἐπ' αὐτῷ. 3  Σαῦλος δὲ ἐλυμαίνετο τὴν ἐκκλησίαν κατὰ τοὺς οἴκους εἰσπορευόμενος, σύρων τε ἄνδρας καὶ γυναῖκας παρεδίδου εἰς φυλακήν.
1Now Saul was there, fully approving of his execution. On that day, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone was scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. 2Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lamentation over him. 3But Saul began ravaging the church; entering house after house, he dragged off both men and women and committed them to prison.
Philip in Samaria
4  Οἱ μὲν οὖν διασπαρέντες διῆλθον εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὸν λόγον. 5  Φίλιππος δὲ κατελθὼν εἰς [τὴν] πόλιν τῆς Σαμαρείας ἐκήρυσσεν αὐτοῖς τὸν Χριστόν. 6  προσεῖχον δὲ οἱ ὄχλοι τοῖς λεγομένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλίππου ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐν τῷ ἀκούειν αὐτοὺς καὶ βλέπειν τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει. 7  πολλοὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐχόντων πνεύματα ἀκάθαρτα βοῶντα φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἐξήρχοντο, πολλοὶ δὲ παραλελυμένοι καὶ χωλοὶ ἐθεραπεύθησαν· 8  ἐγένετο δὲ πολλὴ χαρὰ ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ.
4So those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news of the word. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and began preaching the Christ to them. 6The crowds with one mind paid close attention to what was being said by Philip as they heard him and saw the signs he was performing. 7For unclean spirits, shrieking with a loud voice, were coming out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8And there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
9  Ἀνὴρ δέ τις ὀνόματι Σίμων προϋπῆρχεν ἐν τῇ πόλει μαγεύων καὶ ἐξιστάνων τὸ ἔθνος τῆς Σαμαρείας, λέγων εἶναί τινα ἑαυτὸν μέγαν, 10  ᾧ προσεῖχον πάντες ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου λέγοντες, οὗτός ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ καλουμένη μεγάλη. 11  προσεῖχον δὲ αὐτῷ διὰ τὸ ἱκανῷ χρόνῳ ταῖς μαγείαις ἐξεστακέναι αὐτούς. 12  ὅτε δὲ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ εὐαγγελιζομένῳ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐβαπτίζοντο ἄνδρες τε καὶ γυναῖκες. 13  ὁ δὲ Σίμων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπίστευσεν καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ἦν προσκαρτερῶν τῷ Φιλίππῳ, θεωρῶν τε σημεῖα καὶ δυνάμεις μεγάλας γινομένας ἐξίστατο.
9Now a man named Simon had previously practiced magic in the city and astonished the nation of Samaria, claiming that he himself was someone great. 10Everyone, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the Power of God that is called Great.” 11They paid attention to him because he had astonished them for a long time with his magic arts. 12But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip; and as he observed signs and great miracles happening, he was astonished.
The Coming of the Apostles and Simon’s Sin
14  Ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀπόστολοι ὅτι δέδεκται ἡ Σαμάρεια τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην, 15  οἵτινες καταβάντες προσηύξαντο περὶ αὐτῶν ὅπως λάβωσιν πνεῦμα ἅγιον· 16  οὐδέπω γὰρ ἦν ἐπ' οὐδενὶ αὐτῶν ἐπιπεπτωκός, μόνον δὲ βεβαπτισμένοι ὑπῆρχον εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ. 17  τότε ἐπετίθεσαν τὰς χεῖρας ἐπ' αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐλάμβανον πνεῦμα ἅγιον.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16for He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then they began laying their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18  ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Σίμων ὅτι διὰ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν τῶν ἀποστόλων δίδοται τὸ πνεῦμα, προσήνεγκεν αὐτοῖς χρήματα 19  λέγων, δότε κἀμοὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἵνα ᾧ ἐὰν ἐπιθῶ τὰς χεῖρας λαμβάνῃ πνεῦμα ἅγιον. 20  Πέτρος δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν, τὸ ἀργύριόν σου σὺν σοί εἴη εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὅτι τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνόμισας διὰ χρημάτων κτᾶσθαι· 21  οὐκ ἔστιν σοι μερὶς οὐδὲ κλῆρος ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ, ἡ γὰρ καρδία σου οὐκ ἔστιν εὐθεῖα ἔναντι τοῦ θεοῦ. 22  μετανόησον οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας σου ταύτης καὶ δεήθητι τοῦ κυρίου, εἰ ἄρα ἀφεθήσεταί σοι ἡ ἐπίνοια τῆς καρδίας σου, 23  εἰς γὰρ χολὴν πικρίας καὶ σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας ὁρῶ σε ὄντα. 24  ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Σίμων εἶπεν, δεήθητε ὑμεῖς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὅπως μηδὲν ἐπέλθῃ ἐπ' ἐμὲ ὧν εἰρήκατε.
18Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not straight before God. 22Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of unrighteousness.” 24Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
The Return Mission
25  Οἱ μὲν οὖν διαμαρτυράμενοι καὶ λαλήσαντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου ὑπέστρεφον εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, πολλάς τε κώμας τῶν Σαμαριτῶν εὐηγγελίζοντο.
25 So, after they had fully testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and they continued proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.
Philip and the Ethiopian Official
26  Ἄγγελος δὲ κυρίου ἐλάλησεν πρὸς Φίλιππον λέγων, ἀνάστηθι καὶ πορεύου κατὰ μεσημβρίαν ἐπὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν καταβαίνουσαν ἀπὸ Ἰερουσαλὴμ εἰς Γάζα, αὕτη ἐστὶν ἔρημος. 27  καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη. καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ Αἰθίοψ εὐνοῦχος δυνάστης Κανδάκης βασιλίσσης Αἰθιόπων, ὃς ἦν ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς γάζης αὐτῆς, ὃς ἐληλύθει προσκυνήσων εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ, 28  ἦν τε ὑποστρέφων καὶ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ ἅρματος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεγίνωσκεν τὸν προφήτην Ἠσαΐαν.
26But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get up and go toward the south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 27So he got up and went. And behold, there was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, a high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning; sitting in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29  εἶπεν δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τῷ Φιλίππῳ, πρόσελθε καὶ κολλήθητι τῷ ἅρματι τούτῳ. 30  προσδραμὼν δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ ἀναγινώσκοντος Ἠσαΐαν τὸν προφήτην καὶ εἶπεν, ἆρά γε γινώσκεις ἃ ἀναγινώσκεις; 31  ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, πῶς γὰρ ἄν δυναίμην ἐὰν μή τις ὁδηγήσει με; παρεκάλεσέν τε τὸν Φίλιππον ἀναβάντα καθίσαι σὺν αὐτῷ. 32  ἡ δὲ περιοχὴ τῆς γραφῆς ἣν ἀνεγίνωσκεν ἦν αὕτη· Ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐναντίον τοῦ κείροντος αὐτὸν ἄφωνος, οὕτως οὐκ ἀνοίγει τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ.
33  Ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει [αὐτοῦ] ἡ κρίσις αὐτοῦ ἤρθη· τὴν γενεὰν αὐτοῦ τίς διηγήσεται; ὅτι αἴρεται ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ. {Isa. 53:7-8 LXX}
29The Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and join yourself to this chariot.” 30Running up to him, Philip heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you actually understand what you are reading?” 31And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now the passage of Scripture he was reading was this: “Like a sheep He was led to slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. 33In His humiliation, justice was denied Him. Who can describe His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth.” {Isa. 53:7-8 LXX}
Baptism and Disappearance
34  Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ εὐνοῦχος τῷ Φιλίππῳ εἶπεν, δέομαί σου, περὶ τίνος ὁ προφήτης λέγει τοῦτο; περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἢ περὶ ἑτέρου τινός; 35  ἀνοίξας δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῆς γραφῆς ταύτης εὐηγγελίσατο αὐτῷ τὸν Ἰησοῦν. 36  ὡς δὲ ἐπορεύοντο κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, ἦλθον ἐπί τι ὕδωρ, καί φησιν ὁ εὐνοῦχος, ἰδοὺ ὕδωρ, τί κωλύει με βαπτισθῆναι; [[ 37  εἶπε δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Φίλιππος, ἐὰν πιστεύεις ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου, σωθήσει· ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ εἶπε, πιστεύω εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ,]]
34The eunuch addressed Philip and said, “I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself or about someone else?” 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, he proclaimed the good news of Jesus to him. 36As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
38  καὶ ἐκέλευσεν στῆναι τὸ ἅρμα καὶ κατέβησαν ἀμφότεροι εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ, ὅ τε Φίλιππος καὶ ὁ εὐνοῦχος, καὶ ἐβάπτισεν αὐτόν. 39  ὅτε δὲ ἀνέβησαν ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, πνεῦμα κυρίου ἥρπασεν τὸν Φίλιππον καὶ οὐκ εἶδεν αὐτὸν οὐκέτι ὁ εὐνοῦχος, ἐπορεύετο γὰρ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ χαίρων. 40  Φίλιππος δὲ εὑρέθη εἰς Ἄζωτον· καὶ διερχόμενος εὐηγγελίζετο τὰς πόλεις πάσας ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς Καισάρειαν.
38And he ordered the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no longer, but went on his way rejoicing. 40Philip, however, found himself at Azotus; and as he passed through, he kept proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.