Atti 8
1 OR Saulo era consenziente alla morte d'esso. Ed in quel tempo vi fu gran persecuzione contro alla chiesa ch' [era] in Gerusalemme; e tutti furono dispersi per le contrade della Giudea, e della Samaria, salvo gli apostoli.
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 Ed alcuni uomini religiosi portarono a seppellire Stefano, e fecero gran cordoglio di lui.
3 Ma Saulo disertava la chiesa, entrando di casa in casa; e trattine uomini e donne, li metteva in prigione.
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 Coloro adunque che furono dispersi andavano attorno, evangelizzando la parola.
The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
5 E Filippo discese nella città di Samaria, e predicò loro Cristo.
[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 E le turbe di pari consentimento attendevano alle cose dette da Filippo, udendo, e veggendo i miracoli ch'egli faceva.
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 Poichè gli spiriti immondi uscivano di molti che li aveano, gridando con gran voce; molti paralitici ancora, e zoppi, erano sanati.
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 E vi fu grande allegrezza in quella città.
So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
9 Or in quella città era prima stato un uomo, [chiamato] per nome Simone, che esercitava le arti magiche, e seduceva la gente di Samaria, dicendosi esser qualche grand'uomo.
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 E tutti, dal maggiore al minore, attendevano a lui, dicendo: Costui è la gran potenza di Dio.
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 Ora attendevano a lui, perciocchè già da lungo tempo li avea dimentati con le [sue] arti magiche.
They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
12 Ma, quando ebbero creduto a Filippo, il quale evangelizzava le cose [appartenenti] al regno di Dio, ed al nome di Gesù Cristo, furono battezzati [tutti], uomini e donne.
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 E Simone credette anch'egli; ed essendo stato battezzato, si riteneva del continuo con Filippo; e, veggendo le potenti operazioni, ed i segni ch'erano fatti, stupiva.
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 Ora, gli apostoli ch' [erano] in Gerusalemme, avendo inteso che Samaria avea ricevuta la parola di Dio, mandarono loro Pietro e Giovanni.
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 I quali, essendo discesi [là], orarono per loro, acciocchè ricevessero lo Spirito Santo.
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 (Perciocchè esso non era ancor caduto sopra alcun di loro; ma solamente erano stati battezzati nel nome del Signor Gesù).
[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 Allora imposero loro le mani, ed essi ricevettero lo Spirito Santo.
[Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
18 Or Simone, veggendo che per l'imposizion delle mani degli apostoli, lo Spirito Santo era dato, proferse lor danari, dicendo:
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 Date ancora a me questa podestà, che colui al quale io imporrò le mani riceva lo Spirito Santo.
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 Ma Pietro gli disse: Vadano i tuoi danari teco in perdizione, poichè tu hai stimato che il dono di Dio si acquisti con danari.
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 Tu non hai parte, nè sorte alcuna in questa parola; perciocchè il tuo cuore non è diritto davanti a Dio.
[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 Ravvediti adunque di questa tua malvagità; e prega Iddio, se forse ti sarà rimesso il pensier del tuo cuore.
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 Perciocchè io ti veggo essere in fiele d'amaritudine, e in legami d'iniquità.
[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 E Simone, rispondendo, disse: Fate voi per me orazione al Signore, che nulla di ciò che avete detto venga sopra me.
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
25 Essi adunque, dopo aver testificata, ed annunziata la parola del Signore, se ne ritornarono in Gerusalemme; ed evangelizzarono a molte castella de' Samaritani.
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 OR un angelo del Signore parlò a Filippo, dicendo: Levati, e vattene verso il mezzodì, alla via che scende di Gerusalemme in Gaza, la quale è deserta.
[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 Ed egli, levatosi, vi andò; ed ecco un uomo Etiopo, eunuco, barone di Candace, regina degli Etiopi, ch'era soprantendente di tutti i tesori d'essa, il quale era venuto in Gerusalemme per adorare.
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 Or egli se ne tornava; e, sedendo sopra il suo carro, leggeva il profeta Isaia.
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 E lo Spirito disse a Filippo: Accostati, e giungi questo carro.
[God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
30 E Filippo accorse, ed udì ch'egli leggeva il profeta Isaia, e [gli] disse: Intendi tu le cose che tu leggi?
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 Ed egli disse: E come potrei io [intenderle], se non che alcuno mi giudi? E pregò Filippo che montasse, e sedesse con lui.
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 Or il luogo della scrittura ch'egli leggeva era questo: Egli è stato menato all'uccisione, come una pecora; ed a guisa d'agnello che è mutolo dinanzi a colui che lo tosa, così egli non ha aperta la sua bocca.
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 Per lo suo abbassamento la sua condannazione è stata tolta; ma chi racconterà la sua età? poichè la sua vita è stata tolta dalla terra.
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 E l'eunuco fece motto a Filippo, e disse: Di cui, ti prego, dice questo il profeta? [lo dice] di sè stesso, o pur d'un altro?
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 E Filippo, avendo aperta la bocca, e cominciando da questa scrittura, gli evangelizzò Gesù.
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 E, mentre andavano al [lor] cammino, giunsero ad una cert'acqua. E l'eunuco disse: Ecco dell'acqua, che impedisce che io non sia battezzato?
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 E Filippo disse: Se tu credi con tutto il cuore, egli è lecito. Ed egli, rispondendo, disse: Io credo che Gesù Cristo è il Figliuol di Dio.
38 E comandò che il carro si fermasse; ed amendue, Filippo e l'eunuco, disceser nell'acqua; e [Filippo] lo battezzò.
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 E quando furono saliti fuori dell'acqua, lo Spirito del Signore rapì Filippo, e l'eunuco nol vide più; perciocchè egli andò a suo cammino tutto allegro.
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 E Filippo si ritrovò in Azot; e, passando, evangelizzò a tutte le città, finchè venne in Cesarea.
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].
