Acts 8
1 But Saul was consentynge to his deth. And greet persecucioun was maad that dai in the chirche, that was in Jerusalem. And alle men weren scatered bi the cuntrees of Judee and Samarie, outakun the apostlis.
Then some men who revered God buried Stephen’s body in a tomb, and they mourned greatly and loudly for him. On that same day [people] started severely persecuting the believers [who were living] in Jerusalem. So most [of the believers] fled [to other places] throughout Judea and Samaria [provinces]. The apostles were the only [believers who remained in Jerusalem].
2 But good men birieden Steuene, and maden greet mornyng on hym.
3 But Saul greetli distruyede the chirche, and entryde bi housis, and drowe men and wymmen, and bitook hem in to prisoun.
While the people were killing Stephen, Saul was there approving of their killing Stephen. So Saul [also] began trying to destroy the group of believers. He entered houses one by one, he dragged away men and women [who believed in Jesus], and then he [arranged for] them to be put in prison.
4 And thei that weren scaterid, passiden forth, prechynge the word of God.
The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
5 And Filip cam doun in to a citee of Samarie, and prechide to hem Crist.
[One of those believers whose name was] Philip went down [from Jerusalem] to a city in Samaria [province]. There he was telling [the people that Jesus is] [MTY] the Messiah.
6 And the puple yaf tent to thes thingis that weren seid of Filip, with o wille herynge and seynge the signes that he dide.
Many people there heard Philip [speak] and saw the miraculous things that he was doing. So they all (paid close attention to/listened carefully to) his words.
7 For manye of hem that hadden vnclene spirits, crieden with a greet vois, and wenten out.
For [example, when Philip commanded] evil spirits who controlled many people [that they should come out of them], they came out, while those spirits screamed. Also, many people who were paralyzed and [many others] who were lame were healed.
8 And manye sijk in the palsi, and crokid, weren heelid.
So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
9 Therfor greet ioye was maad in that citee. But there was a man in that citee, whos name was Symount, a witche, that hadde disseyued the folc of Samarie, seiynge, that him silf was sum greet man.
There was a man in that city whose name was Simon. He had been practicing sorcery for a long time, and he had been amazing the people in Samaria [province by doing that]. He continually claimed that he was a great/important person.
10 Whom alle herkeneden, fro the leest to the moost, and seiden, This is the vertu of God, which is clepid greet.
All the people there, both ordinary and important people, listened to him. [Various ones of] them were saying, “This man works in extremely powerful ways [because] God has caused him to be a great [person].”
11 And thei leueden hym, for long tyme he hadde maddid hem with his witche craftis.
They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
12 But whanne thei hadden bileued to Filip, `that prechide of the kingdom of God, men and wymmen weren baptisid in the name of Jhesu Crist.
But then they believed Philip’s [message] when he preached to them about [how] God desires to rule [MET] [the lives of people who believe in him], and about Jesus being the Messiah [MTY]. Both the men and the women who believed in Jesus were baptized. {[Philip] was baptizing both the men and the women [who had come to believe in Jesus]}.
13 And thanne also Symount him silf bileued; and whanne he was baptisid, he drouy to Filip; and he sai also that signes and grete vertues weren don, he was astonyed, and wondride.
Simon himself believed [Philip’s message] and, after he was baptized {after [Philip] baptized him}, he began to constantly accompany Philip. Simon was continually amazed because he often saw [Philip] doing many kinds of miraculous things.
14 But whanne the apostlis that weren at Jerusalem, hadden herd that Samarie hadde resseyued the word of God, thei senten to hem Petre and Joon.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that [many people] [PRS] [throughout] Samaria [district] had believed the message from God [about Jesus], they sent Peter and John there.
15 And whanne thei camen, thei preieden for hem, that thei schulden resseyue the Hooli Goost;
When Peter and John arrived in Samaria, they prayed for those [new believers] in order that the Holy Spirit’s [power] would come to them.
16 for he cam not yit in to ony of hem, but thei weren baptisid oonli in the name of the Lord Jhesu.
[Peter and John realized that] the Holy Spirit had not yet begun to empower any of them. They had been baptized {[Philip] had baptized them} [because they had believed] in [MTY] the Lord Jesus, [but they did not know about the Holy Spirit].
17 Thanne thei leiden hoondis on hem, and thei resseyueden the Hooli Goost.
[Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
18 And whanne Symount hadde seyn, that the Hooly Goost was youun bi leiyng on of the hoondis of the apostlis, and he proferide to hem money, and seide,
Simon saw [things that convinced him] that [God] had given the Spirit’s [power to people] as a result of the apostles placing their hands on them. So he offered [to give] money to the apostles,
19 Yyue ye also to me this power, that whom euere Y schal leye on myn hoondis, that he resseyue the Hooli Goost.
saying, “Enable me also to do what [you are doing], so that everyone on whom I place/put my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’s [power].”
20 But Petir seide to hym, Thi money be with thee into perdicioun, for thou gessidist the yifte of God schulde be had for monei.
But Peter said to him, “May you [(sg)] and your money go to hell, because you [mistakenly] think that you can buy [from us] what God [alone] gives to [people] (questioned)
21 Ther is no part, ne sort to thee, in this word, for thin herte is not riytful bifor God.
[God] has not authorized you to have any part of this ministry of giving [the Holy Spirit’s power], because he knows that you are not thinking rightly! (OR, because he knows that you are thinking completely wrongly.)
22 Therfor do thou penaunce for this wickidnesse of thee, and preie God, if perauenture this thouyt of thin herte be foryouun to thee.
So stop thinking wickedly [like] that, and plead that the Lord, if he is willing, will forgive you [for what] you [wickedly] thought/planned [to do]
23 For Y se that thou art in the gall of bitternesse and in the boond of wickidnesse.
[Turn away from your evil ways], because I perceive that you [(sg)] are extremely envious of [us], and you [are] a slave of your [continual desire to do evil! God will certainly punish you severely]!”
24 And Symount answeride, and seide, Preie ye for me to the Lord, that no thing of these thingis that ye han seid, com on me.
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
25 And thei witnessiden, and spaken the word of the Lord, and yeden ayen to Jerusalem, and prechiden to many cuntrees of Samaritans.
After [Peter and John] told [people there] what they knew personally [about the] Lord [Jesus] and declared to them the message about Jesus, they both returned to Jerusalem. [Along the way] they preached the good message [about Jesus to people] in many villages in Samaria [province].
26 And an aungel of the Lord spak to Filip, and seide, Ryse thou, and go ayens the south, to the weie that goith doun fro Jerusalem in to Gasa; this is desert.
[One day] an angel whom the Lord [God] had sent commanded Philip, “Get ready and go south along the road that extends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” [That was] a road in a desert area.
27 And he roos, and wente forth. And lo! a man of Ethiopie, a myyti man seruaunt, a yelding of Candace, the queen of Ethiopiens, which was on alle her richessis, cam to worschipe in Jerusalem.
So Philip got ready and went [along that road]. Suddenly he met a man from Ethiopia. He was an important official who took care of all the funds for the queen [of] Ethiopia. [In his language people called their queen] Candace. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship [God],
28 And he turnede ayen, sittinge on his chare, and redinge Isaie, the profete.
and he was returning [home] and was seated [riding] in his chariot. [As he was riding], he was reading [out loud from] what the prophet Isaiah [had written] [MTY] [long ago].
29 And the spirit seide to Filip, Neiye thou, and ioyne thee to this chare.
[God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
30 And Filip `ran to, and herde hym redynge Ysaie, the prophete. And he seide, Gessist thou, whether thou vndirstondist, what thingis thou redist?
So Philip ran [to the chariot and kept running close to it]. Then he heard the official reading what the prophet Isaiah [had written]. He asked the man, “Do you [(sg)] understand what you are reading?”
31 And he seide, How may Y, if no man schewe to me? And he preiede Filip, that he schulde come vp, and sitte with hym.
He answered Philip, “[No!] (I cannot possibly [understand it] if [there is] no one to explain it to me!/How can I [understand it] if [there is] no one to explain it to me?) [RHQ]” Acts 8:31b-35 Then the man said to Philip, “Please come up [and] sit beside me.” [So Philip did that].
32 And the place of the scripture that he redde, was this, As a scheep he was led to sleyng, and as a lomb bifor a man that scherith him is doumb with out vois, so he openyde not his mouth.
The part of the Scriptures that the official was reading was this: He will [be silent when] they lead him away to kill him [like when] a sheep [is led away to be killed]. As a young sheep is silent when its wool is being cut off {someone cuts off its wool}, [similarly] he will not protest [MTY] [when people cause him to suffer].
33 In mekenesse his dom was takun vp; who schal telle out the generacioun of hym? For his lijf schal be takun awei fro the erthe.
When he will be humiliated by being accused falsely {people will humiliate him [by accusing him falsely]}, [the rulers] (will not consider him innocent/will consider him guilty). No one will possibly be able to tell about his descendants, because he will be killed {people will kill him} without him having [any descendants] on the earth.
34 And the gelding answeride to Filip, and seide, Y biseche thee, of `what profete seith he this thing? of him silf, ethir of ony othere?
The official asked Philip [about these words that he was reading], “Tell me, who was the prophet writing about? [Was he writing] about himself or about someone else?”
35 And Filip openyde his mouth, and bigan at this scripture, and prechide to him Jhesu.
So Philip began [to explain] that Scripture passage. He told him the good message about [MTY] Jesus. [So the official understood and believed in Jesus].
36 And the while thei wenten bi the weie, thei camen to a water. And the gelding seide, Lo! watir; who forbedith me to be baptisid?
While they were traveling along the road, they came to [a place where there was a pond of] water [near the road]. Then the official said [to Philip], “Look, [there is a pond of] water! (I would like you to baptize me, because I do not know of anything that would prevent me from being baptized {prevent [you] from baptizing me.}/Do you know of anything that would prevent me from being baptized {prevent [you] from baptizing me}?) [RHQ]”
37 And Filip seide, If thou bileuest of al the herte, it is leueful. And he answeride, and seide, Y bileue that Jhesu Crist is the sone of God.
38 And he comaundide the chare to stonde stille. And thei wenten doun bothe into the watir, Filip and the gelding, and Filip baptiside hym.
So the official told [the driver] to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down into the [pond of] water, and [Philip] baptized him.
39 And whanne thei weren come vp of the watir, the spirit of the Lord rauyschide Filip, and the gelding say hym no more.
When they came up out of the water, suddenly God’s Spirit took Philip away. The official never saw Philip again. But [although he never saw Philip again], the official continued going along the road, very happy [that God had saved him].
40 And Filip was foundun in Azotus; and he passide forth, and prechide to alle citees, til he cam to Cesarie.
Philip then realized [that the Spirit had miraculously taken him to] Azotus [town]. While he traveled around [in that region], he continued proclaiming the message [about Jesus] in all the towns [between Azotus and Caesarea. And he was still proclaiming] it when he finally arrived in Caesarea [city].
