Caeltueih 8
1 Anih a ngawnnah te aka rhoih la Sual khaw om. Te vaeng tue ah a nah la hlangboel hnaemtaeknah te Jerusalem ah om. Te dongah caeltueih rhoek bueng pawt atah hlang boeih loh Judea neh Samaria paeng tom la palang uh.
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].
2 Stephen te aka cuep hlang rhoek loh a up uh tih anih te rhangsaenah a saii uh.
3 Tedae Saul tah im takuem la kun tih hlangboel te a phae. Huta tongpa te a mawt tih thongim ah a thak.
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.
4 Te dongah aka palang rhoek long khaw caeh lam ah olthangthen a thui uh.
The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
5 Te vaengah Philip tah Samaria kho la cet tih amih taengah Khrih te a hoe.
[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.
6 Philip loh a thui te hlangping loh a hnatung tih huek a yaak uh vaengah miknoek a saii te a hmuh uh.
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.
7 Rhalawt mueihla aka kaem rhoek te khaw ol ue la pang uh tih muep nong uh. Aka khawn neh aka khaem rhoek khaw muep hoeih uh.
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.
8 Te dongah khopuei khuiah omngaihnah te muep om.
So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
9 Te vaengah kho khuikah aka om noek hlang pakhat, a ming ah Simon loh hlang a bi tih khat khat taengah amah te a len la om ham a ti dongah Samaria namtu te a limlum sak.
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.
10 Anih te a yit a len hlang boeih loh a hnatung uh tih, “A khuet la a khue Pathen kah a thaomnah ni he,” a ti uh.
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].”
11 Amih te kum te yet khuiah hlangbi neh a limlum sak dongah ni anih te a hnatung uh.
They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
12 Tedae Philip loh a phong Pathen ram kawng neh Jesuh Khrih ming te a tangnah uh dongah huta tongpa a nuem.
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]}.
13 Simon amah long khaw a tangnah dongah a nuem tih Philip taengah aka khuituk la coeng. Miknoek neh thaomnah tanglue a saii te a hmuh vaengah limlum.
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.
14 Samaria loh Pathen kah olka a doe te Jerusalem kah caeltueih rhoek loh a yaak uh vaengah amih taengla Peter neh Johan te a tueih uh.
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.
15 A suntlak rhoi vaengah Mueihla Cim dang uh van saeh tila amih ham thangthui rhoi.
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.
16 Boeipa Jesuh ming neh nuem tangtae la om uh coeng dae, amih te Mueihla Cim loh pakhat khaw tlak thil la om hlan.
[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].
17 Te dongah amih te kut a tloeng thil rhoi tih Mueihla Cim a dang uh.
[Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
18 Caeltueih rhoek kah kut a tloengnah lamloh Mueihla a paek te Simon loh a hmuh vaengah amih taengla tangka a khuen tih,
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,
19 “Tahae kah saithainah he kai khaw m'pae uh lamtah kut ka tloeng thil sarhui loh Mueihla Cim dang van saeh,” a ti nah.
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].”
20 Tedae Peter loh anih te, “Pathen kah kutdoe he tangka la kaelh ham na poek dongah, na tangka te namah taengah pocinah la om saeh.
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)
21 He olka dongah na hmulung neh khoyo a om moenih. Na thinko te Pathen hmaiah thaeng a om moenih.
[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.)
22 Na phayoenah he yut lamtah Boeipa taengah thangthui. Na thinko kah mangtaengnah loh nang n'hlah vuek khaming.
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]
23 Olkhaa hmuet neh boethae kah pinyennah khuiah na om te ka hmuh,” a ti nah.
[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]!”
24 Te dongah Simon loh a doo tih, “Boeipa taengah kai hamla nangmih loh thangtui uh lamtah na thui te kai soah ha thoeng boel saeh,” a ti nah.
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
25 Te rhoek long te a uen uh tih Boeipa kah olka a thui pa uh phoeiah, Jerusalem la bal uh. Samaria kah kho te yet te khaw olthangthen phong pauh.
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].
26 Te vaengah Boeipa kah puencawn loh Philip te a voek tih, “Thoo, tuithim long ben la cet lamtah, Jerusalem lamloh Gaza la suntla thuk. Te ah te khosoek om lah ko,” a ti nah.
[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.
27 Te dongah thoo tih a caeh vaengah Ethiopia manghai nu Kandaki kah hlueikhu mangpa Ethiopia hlang pakhat lawt humuh. Anih loh manghai nu kah khohrhang boeih a om thil. Te vaengah anih khaw bawk hamla Jerusalem ah ha lo.
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],
28 Te tlam te om tih a bal vaengah amah kah leng khuiah ngol tih tonghma Isaiah te a tae.
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].
29 Te vaengah Philip te Mueihla loh, “Leng ke paan lamtah ben lah,” a ti nah.
[God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
30 Puk a cuk vaengah tonghma Isaiah a tae te Philip loh a yaak tih, “Na tae te na yakming van nim te,” a ti nah.
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?”
31 Anih van long khaw, “Pakhat loh kai he long n'tueng pawt atah metlam ka coeng thai van eh?,” a ti nah. Te phoeiah amah taengla luei tih ngol hamla Philip te a cael.
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].
32 Te dongah a tae olcim kah a hmuet a hma tah he tlam he om. Tu bangla maeh la a mawt tih, tuca bangla a mul aka rhuep hmaiah olmueh la om. Te dongah a ka khaw ang pawh.
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].
33 Amah kah laitloeknah loh amah te mathoe khuila a khuen. A hingnah te diklai lamkah a loh pah coeng dongah a rhuirhong te u long a thui eh?
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.
34 Te vaengah hlueikhu boei loh Philip te a doo tih, “Nang kan dawt lah eh, tahae kah a thui tonghma he u nim ca? Amah kawng a? A tloe khat khat kah a kawng a?” a ti nah.
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?”
35 Te dongah Philip loh a ka a ong tih cacim lamloh a tong phoeiah Jesuh te anih taengah a phong.
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].
36 Long te a caeh phai rhoi vaengah tui pakhat te a pha rhoi. Te vaengah hlueikhu boei loh, “Tui ke, nuem ham ba long lae kai n'kang,” a ti nah.
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]”
37 Te dongah Philip loh, “Na thinko boeih neh na tangnah nim ca?,” a ti nah hatah, “Jesuh Khrih tah Pathen capa ni tila ka tangnah,” a ti nah.
38 Te dongah leng te pai sak ham ol a paek. Te phoeiah Philip khaw, hlueikhu boei khaw, tui khuila bok suntla rhoi tih anih te a nuem.
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.
39 Tedae tui lamkah loh ha yoeng hang vaengah Philip te Boeipa kah Mueihla loh vik a khuen. Te vaengah hlueikhu boei loh anih te hmu voel pawh. Tedae a caehlong ah omngaih la cet.
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].
40 Te phoeiah Philip tah Azotus ah phoe tih, aka cet te Kaisarea a pha hlan khuiah khopuei takuem la olthangthen a phong.
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].
