Acts
Chapter 8: 26-40
Philip and the
Ethiopian
26Now an angel of the Lord
said to Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way
he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury
of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book
of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to
that chariot and stay near it.”
30Then
Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you
understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31“How
can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip
to come up and sit with him.
32The
eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
“He was led like a sheep to the
slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33In
his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34The
eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or
someone else?” 35Then Philip began with that very
passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36As they
traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is
water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?” 38And he gave
orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again,
but went on his way rejoicing. 40Philip, however, appeared at
Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached
Caesarea.
