Actuum Apostolorum 8
1 Saulus autem erat consentiens neci eius facta est autem in illa die persecutio magna in ecclesia quae erat Hierosolymis et omnes dispersi sunt per regiones Iudaeae et Samariae praeter apostolos
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 curaverunt autem Stephanum viri timorati et fecerunt planctum magnum super illum
3 Saulus vero devastabat ecclesiam per domos intrans et trahens viros ac mulieres tradebat in custodiam
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 igitur qui dispersi erant pertransiebant evangelizantes verbum
The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
5 Philippus autem descendens in civitatem Samariae praedicabat illis Christum
[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 intendebant autem turbae his quae a Philippo dicebantur unianimiter audientes et videntes signa quae faciebat
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 multi enim eorum qui habebant spiritus inmundos clamantes voce magna exiebant multi autem paralytici et claudi curati sunt
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 factum est ergo magnum gaudium in illa civitate
So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
9 vir autem quidam nomine Simon qui ante fuerat in civitate magus seducens gentem Samariae dicens esse se aliquem magnum
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 cui auscultabant omnes a minimo usque ad maximum dicentes hic est virtus Dei quae vocatur Magna
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 adtendebant autem eum propter quod multo tempore magicis suis dementasset eos
They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
12 cum vero credidissent Philippo evangelizanti de regno Dei et nomine Iesu Christi baptizabantur viri ac mulieres
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 tunc Simon et ipse credidit et cum baptizatus esset adherebat Philippo videns etiam signa et virtutes maximas fieri stupens admirabatur
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 cum autem audissent apostoli qui erant Hierosolymis quia recepit Samaria verbum Dei miserunt ad illos Petrum et Iohannem
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 qui cum venissent oraverunt pro ipsis ut acciperent Spiritum Sanctum
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 nondum enim in quemquam illorum venerat sed baptizati tantum erant in nomine Domini Iesu
[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 tunc inponebant manus super illos et accipiebant Spiritum Sanctum
[Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
18 cum vidisset autem Simon quia per inpositionem manus apostolorum daretur Spiritus Sanctus obtulit eis pecuniam
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 dicens date et mihi hanc potestatem ut cuicumque inposuero manus accipiat Spiritum Sanctum Petrus autem dixit ad eum
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 pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem quoniam donum Dei existimasti pecunia possideri
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 non est tibi pars neque sors in sermone isto cor enim tuum non est rectum coram Deo
[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 paenitentiam itaque age ab hac nequitia tua et roga Deum si forte remittatur tibi haec cogitatio cordis tui
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 in felle enim amaritudinis et obligatione iniquitatis video te esse
[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 respondens autem Simon dixit precamini vos pro me ad Dominum ut nihil veniat super me horum quae dixistis
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
25 et illi quidem testificati et locuti verbum Domini rediebant Hierosolymam et multis regionibus Samaritanorum evangelizabant
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 angelus autem Domini locutus est ad Philippum dicens surge et vade contra meridianum ad viam quae descendit ab Hierusalem in Gazam haec est 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 et surgens abiit et ecce vir aethiops eunuchus potens Candacis reginae Aethiopum qui erat super omnes gazas eius venerat adorare in Hierusalem
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 et revertebatur sedens super currum suum legensque prophetam Esaiam
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 dixit autem Spiritus Philippo accede et adiunge te ad currum istum
[God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
30 adcurrens autem Philippus audivit illum legentem Esaiam prophetam et dixit putasne intellegis quae legis
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 qui ait et quomodo possum si non aliquis ostenderit mihi rogavitque Philippum ut ascenderet et sederet secum
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 locus autem scripturae quam legebat erat hic tamquam ovis ad occisionem ductus est et sicut agnus coram tondente se sine voce sic non aperuit os suum
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 humilitate iudicium eius sublatum est generationem illius quis enarrabit quoniam tollitur de terra vita eius
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 respondens autem eunuchus Philippo dixit obsecro te de quo propheta dicit hoc de se an de alio aliquo
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 aperiens autem Philippus os suum et incipiens ab scriptura ista evangelizavit illi Iesum
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 et dum irent per viam venerunt ad quandam aquam et ait eunuchus ecce aqua quid prohibet me baptizari
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]”
38 et iussit stare currum et descenderunt uterque in aquam Philippus et eunuchus et baptizavit eum
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 cum autem ascendissent de aqua Spiritus Domini rapuit Philippum et amplius non vidit eum eunuchus ibat enim per viam suam gaudens
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 Philippus autem inventus est in Azoto et pertransiens evangelizabat civitatibus cunctis donec veniret Caesaream
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].
