Acts 8

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.2 And devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him.3 But Saul laid waste the church, entering into every house, and dragging men and women committed them to prison.4 They therefore that were scattered abroad, went about preaching the word.5 And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.6 And the multitudes gave heed with one accord unto the things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard, and saw the signs which he did.7 For from many of those that had unclean spirits, they came out, crying with a loud voice: and many that were palsied, and that were lame, were healed.8 And there was much joy in that city.9 But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who beforetime in the city used sorcery, and amazed the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is that power of God which is called Great.11 And they gave heed to him, because that of long time he had amazed them with his sorceries.12 But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.13 And Simon also himself believed: and being baptized, he continued with Philip; and beholding signs and great miracles wrought, he was amazed.14 Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:15 who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit:16 for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.18 Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,19 saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.20 But Peter said unto him, Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money.21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right before God.22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee.23 For I see that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.24 And Simon answered and said, Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken come upon me.25 They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.26 But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert.27 And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship;28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.29 And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.30 And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?31 And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him.32 Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth:

33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: His generation who shall declare? For his life is taken from the earth.

34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other?35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached unto him Jesus.36 And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing.40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Apostlenes gjerninger 8

1  t Saulus var enig i drapet på Stefanus.

Forfølgelse

3 t Men Saulus fór hardt fram mot menigheten. Han trengte seg inn i hjemmene og slepte ut både menn og kvinner og fikk dem kastet i fengsel.

Filip i Samaria

8 Det ble stor glede der i byen.
9 En mann ved navn Simon holdt til i byen. Han drev med trolldom så folket i Samaria var helt overveldet. Han påsto at han var noe stort. 10 Alle var opptatt av ham, og både små og store sa: «Han er Guds kraft, den som kalles Den store.» 11 De sluttet opp om ham fordi han i lang tid hadde overveldet dem med trolldomskunstene sine. 12 Men da de fikk tiltro til Filip, som forkynte evangeliet om Guds rike og Jesu Kristi navn, lot de seg døpe, både menn og kvinner.

13 Simon selv kom også til tro, og da han var blitt døpt, holdt han seg stadig til Filip og var overveldet av de tegn og mektige gjerninger han så.
14 Apostlene i Jerusalem fikk nå høre at Samaria hadde tatt imot Guds ord, og de sendte Peter og Johannes dit ned. 15 De kom ned og ba for dem, slik at de skulle få Den hellige ånd. 16 For Ånden var ennå ikke kommet over noen av dem, de var bare døpt til Herren Jesu navn.

17 t Nå la de hendene på dem, og de fikk Den hellige ånd.
18 Men da Simon så at Ånden ble gitt ved at apostlene la hendene på dem, tilbød han dem penger 19 og sa: «Gi meg også en slik makt, så den jeg legger hendene på, kan få Den hellige ånd!» 20 t Men Peter sa til ham: «Måtte pengene dine gå til grunne sammen med deg, du som tror at du kan kjøpe Guds gave for penger! 21 t Du har ingen arvelodd eller del i dette, for ditt hjerte er ikke oppriktig mot Gud. 22 Omvend deg fra denne ondskapen din, og be til Herren, så kanskje han vil tilgi deg det du tenker i hjertet. 23 t For jeg ser at du er full av bitter galle og lenket til ondskap.»

24 Da sa Simon: «Dere må be til Herren for meg, så jeg ikke skal bli rammet av det dere har sagt.»

25 Etter at de hadde vitnet og talt Herrens ord, vendte de tilbake til Jerusalem, og underveis forkynte de evangeliet i mange av landsbyene i Samaria.

Filip og den etiopiske hoffmannen

32 t Det stykket i Skriften han holdt på å lese, var dette:
Lik en sau som føres bort for å slaktes,
lik et lam som tier når det klippes,
åpnet han ikke sin munn.

33  Da han var fornedret,
ble dommen over ham opphevet.
Hvem kan fortelle om hans ætt?
For hans liv er tatt bort fra jorden.
34 Hoffmannen sa da til Filip: «Si meg, hvem er det profeten taler om her? Er det om seg selv eller om en annen?» 35 t Da tok Filip til orde. Han begynte med dette skriftstedet og forkynte evangeliet om Jesus for ham. 36 t Mens de kjørte langs veien, kom de til et sted hvor det var vann, og hoffmannen sa: «Se, her er vann. Hva er til hinder for at jeg blir døpt?» 37 t {{Filip svarte: «Hvis du tror av hele ditt hjerte, kan det skje.» Da sa han: «Jeg tror at Jesus Kristus er Guds Sønn.»}} 38 Så lot han vognen stanse, og de steg ned i vannet, både Filip og hoffmannen, og Filip døpte ham. 39 Da de steg opp av vannet, rykket Herrens Ånd Filip bort, og hoffmannen så ham ikke lenger. Han fortsatte lykkelig videre på sin vei. 40 tt Men Filip viste seg senere i Asjdod, og han forkynte evangeliet i alle byene han reiste gjennom, helt fram til Cæsarea.