Acts 8
1 Then some men who revered God buried Stephen’s body in a tomb, and they mourned greatly and loudly for him. On that same day [people] started severely persecuting the believers [who were living] in Jerusalem. So most [of the believers] fled [to other places] throughout Judea and Samaria [provinces]. The apostles were the only [believers who remained in Jerusalem].
| وَكَانَ شَاوُلُ مُوَافِقاً عَلَى قَتْلِ اسْتِفَانُوسَ. وَفِي ذلِكَ الْيَوْمِ وَقَعَ اضْطِهَادٌ شَدِيدٌ عَلَى الْكَنِيسَةِ الَّتِي فِي أُورُشَلِيمَ. فَتَشَتَّتَ الإِخْوَةُ جَمِيعاً فِي نَوَاحِي الْيَهُودِيَّةِ وَالسَّامِرَةِ، وَلَمْ يَبْقَ فِي أُورُشَلِيمَ إِلاَّ الرُّسُلُ. | ١ |
| وَأَمَّا اسْتِفَانُوسُ فَقَدْ دَفَنَهُ بَعْضُ الرِّجَالِ الأَتْقِيَاءِ، وَنَاحُوا عَلَيْهِ كَثِيراً. | ٢ |
3 While the people were killing Stephen, Saul was there approving of their killing Stephen. So Saul [also] began trying to destroy the group of believers. He entered houses one by one, he dragged away men and women [who believed in Jesus], and then he [arranged for] them to be put in prison.
| أَمَّا شَاوُلُ فَكَانَ يُحَاوِلُ إِبَادَةَ الْكَنِيسَةِ، فَيَذْهَبُ مِنْ بَيْتٍ إِلَى بَيْتٍ وَيَجُرُّ الرِّجَالَ وَالنِّسَاءَ وَيُلْقِيهِمْ فِي السِّجْنِ. | ٣ |
4 The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
| وَالَّذِينَ تَشَتَّتُوا كَانُوا يَنْتَقِلُونَ مِنْ مَكَانٍ إِلَى مَكَانٍ مُبَشِّرِينَ بِالْكَلِمَةِ. | ٤ |
5 [One of those believers whose name was] Philip went down [from Jerusalem] to a city in Samaria [province]. There he was telling [the people that Jesus is] [MTY] the Messiah.
| فَذَهَبَ فِيلِبُّسُ إِلَى مَدِينَةٍ فِي مِنْطَقَةِ السَّامِرَةِ، وَأَخَذَ يُبَشِّرُ أَهْلَهَا بِالْمَسِيحِ. | ٥ |
6 Many people there heard Philip [speak] and saw the miraculous things that he was doing. So they all (paid close attention to/listened carefully to) his words.
| فَأَصْغَتِ الْجُمُوعُ إِلَى كَلاَمِهِ بِقَلْبٍ وَاحِدٍ، إِذْ سَمِعُوا بِالْعَلاَمَاتِ الَّتِي أَجْرَاهَا، أَوْ رَأَوْهَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ، | ٦ |
7 For [example, when Philip commanded] evil spirits who controlled many people [that they should come out of them], they came out, while those spirits screamed. Also, many people who were paralyzed and [many others] who were lame were healed.
| فَقَدْ كَانَ يَأْمُرُ الأَرْوَاحَ النَّجِسَةَ، فَتَصْرُخُ بِصَوْتٍ عَالٍ وَتَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْمَسْكُونِينَ بِهَا، كَمَا شَفَى كَثِيرِينَ مِنَ الْمَشْلُولِينَ وَالْعُرْجِ، | ٧ |
8 So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
| فَعَمَّتِ الْفَرْحَةُ أَنْحَاءَ الْمَدِينَةِ. | ٨ |
9 There was a man in that city whose name was Simon. He had been practicing sorcery for a long time, and he had been amazing the people in Samaria [province by doing that]. He continually claimed that he was a great/important person.
| وَكَانَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ فِي تِلْكَ الْمَدِينَةِ سَاحِرٌ اسْمُهُ سِيمُونُ، يُمَارِسُ السِّحْرَ فَيُذْهِلُ أَهْلَ السَّامِرَةِ وَيَدَّعِي أَنَّهُ رَجُلٌ عَظِيمٌ. | ٩ |
10 All the people there, both ordinary and important people, listened to him. [Various ones of] them were saying, “This man works in extremely powerful ways [because] God has caused him to be a great [person].”
| فَأَصْغَى إِلَيْهِ الْجَمِيعُ مِنَ الصَّغِيرِ إِلَى الْكَبِيرِ، قَائِلِينَ: «هَذَا الرَّجُلُ هُوَ قُدْرَةُ اللهِ الْعُظْمَى!» | ١٠ |
11 They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
| وَإِنَّمَا أَصْغَوْا إِلَيْهِ لأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَدِ انْخَدَعُوا مُدَّةً طَوِيلَةً بِحِيَلِهِ السِّحْرِيَّةِ! | ١١ |
12 But then they believed Philip’s [message] when he preached to them about [how] God desires to rule [MET] [the lives of people who believe in him], and about Jesus being the Messiah [MTY]. Both the men and the women who believed in Jesus were baptized. {[Philip] was baptizing both the men and the women [who had come to believe in Jesus]}.
| فَلَمَّا آمَنُوا بِكَلاَمِ فِيلِبُّسَ الَّذِي بَشَّرَهُمْ بِمَلَكُوتِ اللهِ وَبِاسْمِ يَسُوعَ، تَعَمَّدُوا رِجَالاً وَنِسَاءً. | ١٢ |
13 Simon himself believed [Philip’s message] and, after he was baptized {after [Philip] baptized him}, he began to constantly accompany Philip. Simon was continually amazed because he often saw [Philip] doing many kinds of miraculous things.
| وَسِيمُونُ نَفْسُهُ آمَنَ وَتَعَمَّدَ، فَأَلْصَقَ نَفْسَهُ بِفِيلِبُّسَ، وَإِذْ شَاهَدَ الآيَاتِ وَالْمُعْجِزَاتِ الَّتِي أُجْرِيَتْ عَلَى يَدِهِ، اسْتَوْلَتْ عَلَيْهِ الدَّهْشَةُ. | ١٣ |
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that [many people] [PRS] [throughout] Samaria [district] had believed the message from God [about Jesus], they sent Peter and John there.
| وَسَمِعَ الرُّسُلُ فِي أُورُشَلِيمَ أَنَّ أَهْلَ السَّامِرَةِ قَبِلُوا كَلِمَةَ اللهِ، فَأَرْسَلُوا إِلَيْهِمْ بُطْرُسَ وَيُوحَنَّا. | ١٤ |
15 When Peter and John arrived in Samaria, they prayed for those [new believers] in order that the Holy Spirit’s [power] would come to them.
| فَصَلَّيَا لأَجْلِهِمْ لِكَيْ يَنَالُوا الرُّوحَ الْقُدُسَ، | ١٥ |
16 [Peter and John realized that] the Holy Spirit had not yet begun to empower any of them. They had been baptized {[Philip] had baptized them} [because they had believed] in [MTY] the Lord Jesus, [but they did not know about the Holy Spirit].
| لأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ قَدْ حَلَّ بَعْدُ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ، إِلاَّ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَدْ تَعَمَّدُوا بِاسْمِ الرَّبِّ يَسُوعَ. | ١٦ |
17 [Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
| ثُمَّ وَضَعَا أَيْدِيَهُمَا عَلَيْهِمْ، فَنَالُوا الرُّوحَ الْقُدُسَ. | ١٧ |
18 Simon saw [things that convinced him] that [God] had given the Spirit’s [power to people] as a result of the apostles placing their hands on them. So he offered [to give] money to the apostles,
| وَلَمَّا رَأَى سِيمُونُ أَنَّ الرُّوحَ الْقُدُسَ قَدْ حَلَّ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَمَّا وَضَعَ الرَّسُولاَنِ أَيْدِيَهُمَا عَلَيْهِمْ، عَرَضَ عَلَى بُطْرُسَ وَيُوحَنَّا بَعْضَ الْمَالِ، وَقَالَ لَهُمَا: | ١٨ |
19 saying, “Enable me also to do what [you are doing], so that everyone on whom I place/put my hands may receive the Holy Spirit’s [power].”
| «أَعْطِيَانِي أَنَا أَيْضاً هذِهِ السُّلْطَةَ لِكَيْ يَنَالَ الرُّوحَ الْقُدُسَ مَنْ أَضَعُ عَلَيْهِ يَدِي». | ١٩ |
20 But Peter said to him, “May you [(sg)] and your money go to hell, because you [mistakenly] think that you can buy [from us] what God [alone] gives to [people] (questioned)
| فَقَالَ لَهُ بُطْرُسُ: «لِتَبْقَ لَكَ فِضَّتُكَ لِهَلاَكِكَ! لأَنَّكَ ظَنَنْتَ أَنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ أَنْ تَشْتَرِيَ هِبَةَ اللهِ بِالْمَالِ! | ٢٠ |
21 [God] has not authorized you to have any part of this ministry of giving [the Holy Spirit’s power], because he knows that you are not thinking rightly! (OR, because he knows that you are thinking completely wrongly.)
| لاَ قِسْمَةَ لَكَ فِي هَذَا الأَمْرِ وَلاَ نَصِيبَ، لأَنَّ قَلْبَكَ لَيْسَ مُخْلِصاً تُجَاهَ اللهِ. | ٢١ |
22 So stop thinking wickedly [like] that, and plead that the Lord, if he is willing, will forgive you [for what] you [wickedly] thought/planned [to do]
| فَتُبْ عَنْ شَرِّكَ هَذَا وَاطْلُبْ إِلَى اللهِ، عَسَى أَنْ يَغْفِرَ لَكَ نِيَّةَ قَلْبِكَ، | ٢٢ |
23 [Turn away from your evil ways], because I perceive that you [(sg)] are extremely envious of [us], and you [are] a slave of your [continual desire to do evil! God will certainly punish you severely]!”
| لأَنِّي أَرَاكَ تَتَخَبَّطُ فِي مَرَارَةِ الْعَلْقَمِ وَقُيُودِ الْخَطِيئَةِ!» | ٢٣ |
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
| فَقَالَ سِيمُونُ: «صَلِّيَا أَنْتُمَا إِلَى الرَّبِّ مِنْ أَجْلِي حَتَّى لاَ يَنْزِلَ بِي شَيْءٌ مِمَّا تُشِيرَانِ إِلَيْهِ». | ٢٤ |
25 After [Peter and John] told [people there] what they knew personally [about the] Lord [Jesus] and declared to them the message about Jesus, they both returned to Jerusalem. [Along the way] they preached the good message [about Jesus to people] in many villages in Samaria [province].
| وَبَعْدَمَا شَهِدَ بُطْرُسُ وَيُوحَنَّا بِكَلِمَةِ الرَّبِّ وَأَعْلَنَاهَا هُنَاكَ، رَجَعَا إِلَى أُورُشَلِيمَ وَقَدْ بَشَّرَا قُرىً كَثِيرَةً فِي مِنْطَقَةِ السَّامِرَةِ. | ٢٥ |
26 [One day] an angel whom the Lord [God] had sent commanded Philip, “Get ready and go south along the road that extends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” [That was] a road in a desert area.
| ثُمَّ إِنَّ مَلاَكاً مِنْ عِنْدِ الرَّبِّ كَلَّمَ فِيلِبُّسَ فَقَالَ لَهُ: «قُمِ اذْهَبْ نَحْوَ الْجَنُوبِ، مَاشِياً عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ البَرِّيَّةِ بَيْنَ أُورُشَلِيمَ وَغَزَّةَ». | ٢٦ |
27 So Philip got ready and went [along that road]. Suddenly he met a man from Ethiopia. He was an important official who took care of all the funds for the queen [of] Ethiopia. [In his language people called their queen] Candace. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship [God],
| فَقَامَ وَذَهَبَ. وَإِذَا رَجُلٌ حَبَشِيٌّ، خَصِيٌّ، يَعْمَلُ وَزِيراً لِلشُّؤُونِ الْمَالِيَّةِ عِنْدَ كَنْدَاكَةَ مَلِكَةِ الْحَبَشَةِ، كَانَ قَدْ حَجَّ إِلَى أُورُشَلِيمَ لِلسُّجُودِ فِيهَا، | ٢٧ |
28 and he was returning [home] and was seated [riding] in his chariot. [As he was riding], he was reading [out loud from] what the prophet Isaiah [had written] [MTY] [long ago].
| وَهُوَ رَاجِعٌ إِلَى الْحَبَشَةِ رَاكِباً فِي عَرَبَتِهِ، يَقْرَأُ فِي كِتَابِ النَّبِيِّ إِشَعْيَاءَ. | ٢٨ |
29 [God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
| فَقَالَ الرُّوحُ لِفِيلِبُّسَ: «تَقَدَّمْ وَرَافِقْ هذِهِ الْعَرَبَةَ!» | ٢٩ |
30 So Philip ran [to the chariot and kept running close to it]. Then he heard the official reading what the prophet Isaiah [had written]. He asked the man, “Do you [(sg)] understand what you are reading?”
| فَأَسْرَعَ فِيلِبُّسُ وَسَمِعَ الْخَصِيَّ يَقْرَأُ نُبُوءَةَ إِشَعْيَاءَ، فَسَأَلَهُ: «أَتَفْهَمُ مَا تَقْرَأُ؟» | ٣٠ |
31 He answered Philip, “[No!] (I cannot possibly [understand it] if [there is] no one to explain it to me!/How can I [understand it] if [there is] no one to explain it to me?) [RHQ]” Acts 8:31b-35 Then the man said to Philip, “Please come up [and] sit beside me.” [So Philip did that].
| فَأَجَابَ: «كَيْفَ يُمْكِنُنِي ذَلِكَ إِنْ لَمْ يَشْرَحْ لِي أَحَدٌ؟» وَدَعَا فِيلِبُّسَ أَنْ يَصْعَدَ إِلَى الْعَرَبَةِ وَيَجْلِسَ مَعَهُ. | ٣١ |
32 The part of the Scriptures that the official was reading was this: He will [be silent when] they lead him away to kill him [like when] a sheep [is led away to be killed]. As a young sheep is silent when its wool is being cut off {someone cuts off its wool}, [similarly] he will not protest [MTY] [when people cause him to suffer].
| وَكَانَ الْخَصِيُّ قَدْ وَصَلَ فِي فَصْلِ الْكِتَابِ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُهُ إِلَى الْقَوْلِ: «مِثْلَ شَاةٍ سِيقَ إِلَى الذَّبْحِ، وَمِثْلَ الْحَمَلِ الصَّامِتِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ مَنْ يَجُزُّهُ، هكَذَا لَمْ يَفْتَحْ فَاهُ! | ٣٢ |
33 When he will be humiliated by being accused falsely {people will humiliate him [by accusing him falsely]}, [the rulers] (will not consider him innocent/will consider him guilty). No one will possibly be able to tell about his descendants, because he will be killed {people will kill him} without him having [any descendants] on the earth.
| فِي أَثْنَاءِ تَوَاضُعِهِ عُومِلَ بِغَيْرِ عَدْلٍ. مَنْ يُخْبِرُ عَنْ نَسْلِهِ؟ فَإِنَّ حَيَاتَهُ قَدِ انْتُزِعَتْ مِنَ الأَرْضِ!» | ٣٣ |
34 The official asked Philip [about these words that he was reading], “Tell me, who was the prophet writing about? [Was he writing] about himself or about someone else?”
| وَسَأَلَ الْخَصِيُّ فِيلِبُّسَ: «قُلْ لِي: إِلَى مَنْ يُشِيرُ النَّبِيُّ بِهَذَا الْقَوْلِ؟ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ أَوْ إِلَى شَخْصٍ آخَرَ؟» | ٣٤ |
35 So Philip began [to explain] that Scripture passage. He told him the good message about [MTY] Jesus. [So the official understood and believed in Jesus].
| فَتَكَلَّمَ وَأَخَذَ يُبَشِّرُهُ بِيَسُوعَ انْطِلاَقاً مِنْ كِتَابِ النَّبِيِّ هَذَا. | ٣٥ |
36 While they were traveling along the road, they came to [a place where there was a pond of] water [near the road]. Then the official said [to Philip], “Look, [there is a pond of] water! (I would like you to baptize me, because I do not know of anything that would prevent me from being baptized {prevent [you] from baptizing me.}/Do you know of anything that would prevent me from being baptized {prevent [you] from baptizing me}?) [RHQ]”
| وَبَيْنَمَا كَانَتِ الْعَرَبَةُ تَسِيرُ بِهِمَا، وَصَلاَ إِلَى مَكَانٍ فِيهِ مَاءٌ، فَقَالَ الْخَصِيُّ: «هَا هُوَ الْمَاءُ، فَمَاذَا يَمْنَعُ أَنْ أَتَعَمَّدَ؟» | ٣٦ |
| فَأَجَابَهُ فِيلِبُّسُ: «هَذَا جَائِزٌ إِنْ كُنْتَ تُؤْمِنُ مِنْ كُلِّ قَلْبِكَ». فَقَالَ الْخَصِيُّ: «إِنِّي أُومِنُ بِأَنَّ يَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحَ هُوَ ابْنُ اللهِ». | ٣٧ |
38 So the official told [the driver] to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down into the [pond of] water, and [Philip] baptized him.
| وَأَمَرَ أَنْ تَقِفَ الْعَرَبَةُ، فَنَزَلاَ إِلَى الْمَاءِ مَعاً، وَعَمَّدَ فِيلِبُّسُ الْخَصِيَّ. | ٣٨ |
39 When they came up out of the water, suddenly God’s Spirit took Philip away. The official never saw Philip again. But [although he never saw Philip again], the official continued going along the road, very happy [that God had saved him].
| وَمَا إِنْ طَلَعَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ حَتَّى خَطِفَ رُوحُ الرَّبِّ فِيلِبُّسَ، فَلَمْ يَعُدِ الْخَصِيُّ يَرَاهُ. فَتَابَعَ سَفَرَهُ بِفَرَحٍ. | ٣٩ |
40 Philip then realized [that the Spirit had miraculously taken him to] Azotus [town]. While he traveled around [in that region], he continued proclaiming the message [about Jesus] in all the towns [between Azotus and Caesarea. And he was still proclaiming] it when he finally arrived in Caesarea [city].
| أَمَّا فِيلِبُّسُ فَقَدْ شُوهِدَ فِي أَشْدُودَ، ثُمَّ سَارَ يُبَشِّرُ كُلَّ مَدِينَةٍ حَتَّى وَصَلَ إِلَى قَيْصَرِيَّةَ. | ٤٠ |
