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Text -- Acts 8:1-38 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
Saul Begins to Persecute the Church
8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing him . Now on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem , and all except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria .
8:2 Some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him .
8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy the church ; entering one house after another , he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison .
Philip Preaches in Samaria
8:4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word .
8:5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them .
8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said , as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was performing .
8:7 For unclean spirits , crying with loud shrieks , were coming out of many who were possessed , and many paralyzed and lame people were healed .
8:8 So there was great joy in that city .
8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon , who had been practicing magic and amazing the people of Samaria , claiming to be someone great .
8:10 All the people, from the least to the greatest , paid close attention to him, saying , “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great .’”
8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic .
8:12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ , they began to be baptized , both men and women .
8:13 Even Simon himself believed , and after he was baptized , he stayed close to Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring , he was amazed .
8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God , they sent Peter and John to them .
8:15 These two went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit .
8:16 (For the Spirit had not yet come upon any of them , but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus .)
8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans , and they received the Holy Spirit .
8:18 Now Simon , when he saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles ’ hands , offered them money ,
8:19 saying , “Give me this power too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit .”
8:20 But Peter said to him , “May your silver perish with you , because you thought you could acquire God’s gift with money !
8:21 You have no share or part in this matter because your heart is not right before God !
8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours , and pray to the Lord that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart .
8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious and in bondage to sin .”
8:24 But Simon replied , “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to me .”
8:25 So after Peter and John had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord , they started back to Jerusalem , proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages as they went.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
8:26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip , “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza .” (This is a desert road .)
8:27 So he got up and went . There he met an Ethiopian eunuch , a court official of Candace , queen of the Ethiopians , who was in charge of all her treasury . He had come to Jerusalem to worship ,
8:28 and was returning home , sitting in his chariot , reading the prophet Isaiah .
8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip , “Go over and join this chariot .”
8:30 So Philip ran up to it and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet . He asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading ?”
8:31 The man replied , “How in the world can I , unless someone guides me ?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him .
8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this : “He was led like a sheep to slaughter , and like a lamb before its shearer is silent , so he did not open his mouth .
8:33 In humiliation justice was taken from him . Who can describe his posterity ? For his life was taken away from the earth .”
8:34 Then the eunuch said to Philip , “Please tell me, who is the prophet saying this about – himself or someone else ?”
8:35 So Philip started speaking , and beginning with this scripture proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him .
8:36 Now as they were going along the road , they came to some water , and the eunuch said , “Look , there is water ! What is to stop me from being baptized ?”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Simon |
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 13-OUTLINE |
Philip |
Samaria |
Peter |
APOSTLE |
Preaching |
SIMON MAGUS |
Gaza |
Magic |
Ethiopian Eunuch |
Ethiopia |
Conversion |
Minister |
CUSH (1) |
Jesus, The Christ |
Holy Spirit |
Baptism |
Chariot |
Church |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Act 8:1; Act 8:1; Act 8:1; Act 8:1; Act 8:1; Act 8:1; Act 8:2; Act 8:2; Act 8:2; Act 8:3; Act 8:3; Act 8:3; Act 8:5; Act 8:5; Act 8:5; Act 8:5; Act 8:5; Act 8:6; Act 8:6; Act 8:7; Act 8:7; Act 8:8; Act 8:8; Act 8:9; Act 8:10; Act 8:10; Act 8:12; Act 8:12; Act 8:12; Act 8:13; Act 8:13; Act 8:14; Act 8:14; Act 8:14; Act 8:15; Act 8:16; Act 8:16; Act 8:16; Act 8:17; Act 8:17; Act 8:18; Act 8:19; Act 8:20; Act 8:20; Act 8:21; Act 8:21; Act 8:22; Act 8:22; Act 8:23; Act 8:24; Act 8:24; Act 8:24; Act 8:25; Act 8:25; Act 8:25; Act 8:25; Act 8:25; Act 8:25; Act 8:26; Act 8:26; Act 8:26; Act 8:26; Act 8:26; Act 8:26; Act 8:26; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:27; Act 8:28; Act 8:28; Act 8:28; Act 8:30; Act 8:30; Act 8:30; Act 8:30; Act 8:30; Act 8:31; Act 8:31; Act 8:32; Act 8:32; Act 8:33; Act 8:33; Act 8:33; Act 8:33; Act 8:33; Act 8:33; Act 8:34; Act 8:34; Act 8:34; Act 8:35; Act 8:35; Act 8:36; Act 8:37; Act 8:38; Act 8:38
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NET Notes: Act 8:6 Here the following context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned. This term appears 13 times in Acts, but only twice more after Acts ...
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NET Notes: Act 8:7 Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”
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NET Notes: Act 8:8 Great joy. The reason for eschatological joy was that such events pointed to God’s decisive deliverance (Luke 7:22-23). Note how the acts of hea...
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NET Notes: Act 8:10 Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BD...
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NET Notes: Act 8:12 The imperfect verb ἐβαπτίζοντο (ebaptizonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
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NET Notes: Act 8:13 He was amazed. Now Simon, the one who amazed others, is himself amazed, showing the superiority of Philip’s connection to God. Christ is better ...
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NET Notes: Act 8:14 They sent. The Jerusalem church with the apostles was overseeing the expansion of the church, as the distribution of the Spirit indicates in vv. 15-17...
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NET Notes: Act 8:15 Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the phrase “these two” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this...
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NET Notes: Act 8:17 They received the Holy Spirit. It is likely this special distribution of the Spirit took place because a key ethnic boundary was being crossed. Here a...
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NET Notes: Act 8:18 Most witnesses (Ì45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦ...
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NET Notes: Act 8:21 Since the semantic range for λόγος (logos) is so broad, a number of different translations could be given for the preposition...
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NET Notes: Act 8:22 Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English ...
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NET Notes: Act 8:23 Grk “in the gall of bitterness,” an idiom meaning to be particularly envious or resentful of someone. In this case Simon was jealous of th...
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NET Notes: Act 8:25 “As they went” is not in the Greek text, but is implied by the imperfect tense (see tn above).
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NET Notes: Act 8:26 The concluding note about the road appears to be a parenthetical note by the author.
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NET Notes: Act 8:27 Since this man had come to Jerusalem to worship, he may have been a proselyte to Judaism. This event is a precursor to Acts 10.
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NET Notes: Act 8:28 The fact that this man was reading from a scroll (an expensive item in the first century) indicates his connection to a wealthy house.
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NET Notes: Act 8:30 Grk “he said”; but since what follows is a question, it is better English style to translate the introduction to the question “he as...
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NET Notes: Act 8:31 Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The ...
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NET Notes: Act 8:32 Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he ...
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NET Notes: Act 8:34 About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.
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NET Notes: Act 8:35 Beginning with this scripture. The discussion likely included many of the scriptures Acts has already noted for the reader in earlier speeches. At the...
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NET Notes: Act 8:36 Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”
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NET Notes: Act 8:37 A few later mss (E 36 323 453 945 1739 1891 pc) add, with minor variations, 8:37 “He said to him, ‘If you believe with your whole heart, y...
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