Acts 8:22-9:18

English Standard Version

²² Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, ^(A)if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in ^(B)the gall^[a] of bitterness and in ^(C)the bond of iniquity.” ²⁴ And Simon answered, ^(D)“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵ Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, ^(E)preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

²⁶ Now ^(F)an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south^[b] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And there was an ^(G)Ethiopian, a ^(H)eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, ^(I)who was in charge of all her treasure. ^(J)He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, ^(K)“How can I, unless someone ^(L)guides me?” And ^(M)he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

³⁴ And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and ^(P)beginning with this Scripture ^(Q)he told him the good news about Jesus. ³⁶ And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! ^(R)What prevents me from being baptized?”^{[c] 38} And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ And when they came up out of the water, ^(S)the Spirit of the Lord ^(T)carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Conversion of Saul

9 But Saul, ^(U)still ^(V)breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to ^(W)the high priest ² and asked him for letters ^(X)to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^(Y)the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ^3 (Z)Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴ And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ^(AA)me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, ^(AB)whom you are persecuting. ⁶ But ^(AC)rise and enter the city, and you will be told ^(AD)what you are to do.” ^7 (AE)The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, ^(AF)hearing the voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, ^(AG)he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at Damascus named ^(AH)Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, ^(AI)“Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man ^(AJ)of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(AK)lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(AL)how much evil he has done to ^(AM)your ^(AN)saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from ^(AO)the chief priests to bind all who ^(AP)call on your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(AQ)he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name ^(AR)before the Gentiles and ^(AS)kings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ For ^(AT)I will show him how much ^(AU)he must suffer ^(AV)for the sake of my name.” ¹⁷ So ^(AW)Ananias departed and entered the house. And ^(AX)laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and ^(AY)be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and ^(AZ)he regained his sight. Then ^(BA)he rose and was baptized;