Acts 8:13-33

¹³Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized he stayed with Philip constantly. When he saw signs and mighty deeds taking place, he was amazed.

¹⁴Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John.

¹⁵When they had come down, they prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶For until that time, the Holy Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁷Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money.

¹⁹He said, “Give me this power, too, that whoever I place my hands on might receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish along with you, because you thought to obtain the gift of God with money.

²¹You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right with God.

²²Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, so that he might perhaps forgive you for the intention of your heart.

²³For I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bonds of sin.”

²⁴Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

²⁵When they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip and said, “Arise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This road is in a desert.)

²⁷He arose and went. Behold, there was a man from Cush, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Cushites. He was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship.

²⁸He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

²⁹The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and stay close to this chariot.”

³⁰So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

³¹The Cushite said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” He begged Philip to come up into the chariot and sit with him.

³²Now the passage of the scripture which the Ethiopian was reading was this, “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before his shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

³³In his humiliation justice was taken away from him. Who can fully describe his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”