Dɔwɔwɔwo 8
1 Saulo da asi ɖe Stefano wuwu sia dzi kpem. Tso gbe ma gbe dzi la, amewo dze xɔsetɔ siwo le Yerusalem la yometiti gɔme vevie, eye esia na be wo katã wosi yi Yudea kple Samaria nutowo me negbe apostoloawo ɖeɖe koe susɔ ɖe Yerusalem.
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 Ke Yudatɔ aɖewo siwo vɔ̃a Mawu la va kɔ Stefano ƒe kukua ɖaɖi, eye wofae ŋutɔ.
3 Ke Saulo ɖoe kplikpaa be yeagblẽ hame la. Etsoa aƒe me yia aƒe me, léa ŋutsuwo kple nyɔnuwo siaa ɖadea gaxɔ me.
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 Ke xɔsetɔ siwo si dzo le Yerusalem la kaka Yesu ƒe nyanyui la le afi sia afi si woyi la.
The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
5 Filipo hã yi Samaria, eye wòɖe gbeƒã le Kristo ŋuti na wo.
[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 Filipo wɔ nukunu geɖewo le Samaria, eya ta amewo va ɖoa toe ɣe sia ɣi.
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 Enya gbɔgbɔ vɔ̃wo do goe le amewo me, eye ne wodo go le ameawo me alea la, wonɔa ɣli dom sesĩe. Eyɔ dɔ tekunɔwo kple lãmetututɔwo.
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 Esia wɔe be dzidzɔ blibo yɔ dua me fũu.
So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
9 Ke ŋutsu aɖe si ŋkɔe nye Simɔn la nɔ Samaria dua me. Enye afakala xɔŋkɔ aɖe, eye wòna Samaria dukɔ la ƒe nu ku; eya ŋutɔ da ŋkɔ ɖe eɖokui dzi be yenye gã.
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 Amewo katã ku ɖe eŋu; ame ŋkutawo kple ame gblɔewo siaa, eye woda ŋkɔ ɖe edzi be, “Ame siae nye Mawu ƒe ŋusẽ si woyɔna be Ŋusẽ Gã” la.
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 Amewo dze eyome hoo, elabena enana be woƒe nu kuna to eƒe afakaka la me ɣeyiɣi didi aɖe.
They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
12 Ke esi dua me tɔwo se nyanyui la si Filipo gblɔ tso mawufiaɖuƒe la ŋu kple Yesu Kristo ƒe ŋkɔ la, woxɔe se, eye wode mawutsi ta na wo, ŋutsuwo kple nyɔnuwo siaa.
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 Nukutɔe la, Simɔn, afakala la ŋutɔ hã xɔ mawunya dzi se, ale wode mawutsi ta nɛ. Le esia megbe la, enɔ Filipo ŋu kplikplikpli yia afi sia afi si wòyina la, eye nukunu siwo katã Filipo wɔ la na be eƒe nu ku ŋutɔ.
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 Esi apostolo siwo le Yerusalem se be mawunya ɖo Samaria la, woɖo Petro kple Yohanes ɖa be woaɖakpɔ ale si nuwo nɔ edzi yimii le afi ma ɖa.
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 Esime ame dɔdɔawo va ɖo Samaria teti ko la, wodo gbe ɖa ɖe xɔsetɔ yeyeawo ta be woaxɔ Gbɔgbɔ Kɔkɔe la,
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 elabena tsi ko wode ta na wo le Aƒetɔ Yesu ƒe ŋkɔ me, ke womexɔ Gbɔgbɔ Kɔkɔe la haɖe o.
[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 Esi Petro kple Yohanes nɔ gbea dom ɖa la, woda woƒe asiwo ɖe xɔsetɔawo dzi, eye enumake woxɔ Gbɔgbɔ Kɔkɔe la.
[Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
18 Esi Simɔn kpɔ be wona Gbɔgbɔ Kɔkɔe amewo to apostoloawo ƒe asidada ɖe wo dzi me la, ena ga apostoloawo, eye wògblɔ na wo be,
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 “Mina ŋusẽ sia nye hã ale be ame sia ame si dzi mada asi ɖo la naxɔ Gbɔgbɔ Kɔkɔe la.”
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 Petro ɖo eŋu nɛ be, “Wò ga natsrɔ̃ kpli wò, elabena èbu be yeate ŋu aƒle Mawu ƒe nunana kple ga!
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 Wɔƒe kple gomekpɔkpɔ aɖeke mele asiwò le subɔsubɔdɔ sia me o, elabena wò dzi menyo le Mawu ƒe ŋkume o.
[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 Dzudzɔ ta me vɔ̃ɖi ɖoɖo ne nàdo gbe ɖa na Aƒetɔ la. Ɖewohĩ atsɔ wò susu vɔ̃ɖi sia ake wò,
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 elabena edze nam ƒãa be, èyɔ fũu kple vevesese eye nènye kluvi na nu vɔ̃.”
[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 Simɔn ɖo eŋu be, “Do gbe ɖa na Aƒetɔ la ɖe tanye be nu siwo miegblɔ la dometɔ aɖeke madzɔ ɖe dzinye o.”
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
25 Ke esi Petro kple Yohanes ɖi ɖase hegblɔ Aƒetɔ ƒe nya la vɔ la, wogatrɔ yi Yerusalem. Wotɔ ɖe Samaria kɔƒe geɖewo hã me le mɔa dzi, hegblɔ nyanyui la na amewo le afi siawo hã.
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 Ke le Filipo gome la, mawudɔla aɖe va gblɔ nɛ be, “Tso nàyi mɔ si tso Yerusalem heto Gaza gbegbe la dzi.”
[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 Filipo tso heyi abe ale si wogblɔ nɛ la ene; eye kasia ekpɔ Etiopia ŋutsu aɖe, si nye fianyɔnu Kandake ƒe ŋusẽtɔ kple gadzikpɔla gã la. Etso Yerusalem, afi si wòɖawɔ subɔsubɔ le Mawu ƒe gbedoxɔ la me le,
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 eye wòtrɔ yina aƒe. Esi wònɔ mɔa dzi la, enɔ Nyagblɔɖila Yesaya ƒe agbalẽ xlẽm sesĩe le eƒe tasiaɖam me.
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 Gbɔgbɔ Kɔkɔe la gagblɔ na Filipo be, “Te ɖe tasiaɖam la ŋu.”
[God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
30 Esi wòɖe abla te ɖe tasiaɖam la ŋu, eye wòse be ele Nyagblɔɖila Yesaya ƒe agbalẽ xlẽm la, Filipo biae be, “Èse nu si xlẽm nèle la gɔmea?”
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 Etiopia ŋutsu la ɖo eŋu nɛ be, “Ao, nɔvi, aleke mate ŋu ase egɔme esi ame aɖeke meli aɖe eme nam o?” Azɔ eɖe kuku na Filipo be wòage ɖe tasiaɖam la me anɔ ye xa. Filipo wɔ nenema.
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 Biblia ƒe akpa si xlẽm wònɔ la gblɔ be, “Wokplɔe abe alẽvi ene yina wuwu ge, eye abe ale si alẽvi nɔa anyi kpoo ne wole eƒe fũwo sẽm ene la, nenema ke eya hã wɔ, meke nu kura o.
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 Le eƒe ɖokuibɔbɔ ta womedrɔ̃ ʋɔnue ɖe mɔ dzɔdzɔe nu o. Ame kae ate ŋu agblɔ ale si dzidzime si me wòdzɔ ɖo la ƒe tagbɔ sẽe la afia? Elabena woɖe eƒe agbe ɖa le anyigba dzi.”
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 Etiopia ŋutsu la bia Filipo be, “Nyagblɔɖila Yesaya ŋu eya ŋutɔ nɔ nu ƒom le loo alo ame bubu aɖe ŋuea?”
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 Tete Filipo wɔ mawunya si wòxlẽ la kple bubuwo ŋu dɔ hegblɔ nyanyui la nɛ le Yesu ŋu.
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 Esi wonɔ mɔa dzi yina sẽe ko la, wova ke ɖe tɔsisi sue aɖe ŋu. Etiopia ŋutsua bia Filipo be, “Kpɔ ɖa! Tsie nye esi; nu ka ta nyemade mawutsi ta zi ɖeka o?” [
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 Filipo ɖo eŋu nɛ be, “Nenye be èxɔe se tso wò dzi blibo me ko la, ekema naneke mexe mɔ o.” Etiopia ŋutsu la ɖo eŋu be, “Mexɔe se be Yesu Kristoe nye Mawu ƒe Vi la.]”
38 Enumake etɔ tasiaɖam la, eye wòɖi ge ɖe tsi la me, eye Filipo de mawutsi ta nɛ.
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 Esi wòdo tso tsia me teti ko la, Aƒetɔ la ƒe Gbɔgbɔ kɔ Filipo dzoe, ale be Etiopia ŋutsu la megakpɔe o, ke eya hã dze aƒemɔ dzi kple dzidzɔ.
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 Egblɔ nyanyui la le afi ma, eye wògagblɔe le du siwo katã le Kaesarea mɔ dzi la hã me.
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].
