Now on that day a great 2 persecution began 3 against the church in Jerusalem, 4 and all 5 except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions 6 of Judea and Samaria. 8:2 Some 7 devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation 8 over him. 9 8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy 10 the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off 11 both men and women and put them in prison. 12
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 13 and began proclaiming 14 the Christ 15 to them. 8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, 16 as they heard and saw the miraculous signs 17 he was performing. 8:7 For unclean spirits, 18 crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, 19 and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8:8 So there was 20 great joy 21 in that city.
8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic 22 and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, 23 from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” 24 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 25 and the name of Jesus Christ, 26 they began to be baptized, 27 both men and women. 8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to 28 Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed. 29
8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem 30 heard that Samaria had accepted the word 31 of God, they sent 32 Peter and John to them. 8:15 These two 33 went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit.
1 tn The term ἀναίρεσις (anairesi") can refer to murder (BDAG 64 s.v.; 2 Macc 5:13; Josephus, Ant. 5.2.12 [5.165]).
2 tn Or “severe.”
3 tn Grk “Now there happened on that day a great persecution.” It is less awkward to say in English “Now on that day a great persecution began.”
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 sn All. Given that the Jerusalem church is still active after this and that the Hellenists are the focus of Acts 6-8, it is possible to argue that only the Hellenistic Christians were forced to scatter.
6 tn Or “countryside.”
7 tn “Some” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
8 sn Made loud lamentation. For someone who was stoned to death, lamentation was normally not allowed (m. Sanhedrin 6:6). The remark points to an unjust death.
9 tn Or “mourned greatly for him.”
10 tn Or “began to harm [the church] severely.” If the nuance of this verb is “destroy,” then the imperfect verb ἐλυμαίνετο (elumaineto) is best translated as a conative imperfect as in the translation above. If instead the verb is taken to mean “injure severely” (as L&N 20.24), it should be translated in context as an ingressive imperfect (“began to harm the church severely”). Either option does not significantly alter the overall meaning, since it is clear from the stated actions of Saul in the second half of the verse that he intended to destroy or ravage the church.
11 tn The participle σύρων (surwn) has been translated as an finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 tn BDAG 762 s.v. παραδίδωμι 1.b has “εἰς φυλακήν put in prison Ac 8:3.”
13 tn The word “main” is supplied in the translation to clarify that “Samaria” is not the name of the city (at least in NT times). See both BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, and L&N 93.568.
14 tn The imperfect ἐκήρυσσεν (ekhrussen) has been translated as an ingressive, since this is probably the first time such preaching took place.
15 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
16 tn Grk “to what was being said by Philip,” a passive construction that has been changed to active voice in the translation.
17 tn 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 8:13 (i.e., 14:3; 15:12).
18 sn The expression unclean spirits refers to evil supernatural spirits which were ceremonially unclean, and which caused the persons possessed by them to be ceremonially unclean.
19 tn Grk “For [in the case of] many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.”
20 tn Grk “and there came about,” but this is somewhat awkward in English.
21 sn 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 healing extend beyond the Twelve here.
22 tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.
23 tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn 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 BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”
25 sn The kingdom of God is also what Jesus preached: Acts 1:3. The term reappears in 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31.
26 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
27 tn The imperfect verb ἐβαπτίζοντο (ebaptizonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
28 tn Or “he kept close company with.”
29 sn 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 than anything the culture has to offer.
30 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
31 tn Or “message.”
32 sn 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.
33 tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the phrase “these two” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.