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].
LoSawuli wayekhona evumelana lokubulawa kwakhe. Ngalelolanga kwaqalisa isiphithiphithi esibi sokuhlukuluza ibandla eJerusalema, kwathi bonke ngaphandle kwabapostoli bahlakazeka kulolonke iJudiya leSamariya.
Abantu abakholwa kuNkulunkulu bamngcwaba uStefane bamlilela kabuhlungu.
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.
Kodwa uSawuli waqalisa ukulichitha ibandla. Wahamba engena izindlu ngezindlu ephuthuma abesilisa labesifazane esiyabaphosela entolongweni.
4 The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
Labo ababehlakazekile balitshumayela ilizwi loba kungaphi abaya khona.
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.
UFiliphu wehlela edolobheni elithile eSamariya watshumayela ngoKhristu khonale.
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.
Kwathi amaxuku abantu emuzwa uFiliphu njalo ebona izibonakaliso ayezenza bonke bakulalelisisa lokho ayekukhuluma.
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.
Omoya ababi baphuma ebantwini abanengi beklabalala njalo abanengi ababome imihlubulo labayizilima basiliswa.
8 So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
Ngakho kwaba lentokozo enkulu kulelodolobho.
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.
Okwesikhathi esithile indoda eyayithiwa nguSimoni yayisenza amasalamusi edolobheni lelo yamangalisa bonke abantu baseSamariya. Wayezikhukhumeza ezitshaya umuntu omkhulu,
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].”
njalo bonke abantu, abaphakemeyo labantukazana bambuthanela bababaza bathi, “Indoda le kuqondile ibizwa ngokuthi ingaMandla amakhulu kaNkulunkulu.”
11 They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
Bamlandela ngoba wayebamangalisile okwesikhathi eside ngamasalamusi akhe.
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]}.
Kodwa kwathi sebekholwe uFiliphu etshumayela izindaba ezinhle zombuso kaNkulunkulu kanye lebizo likaJesu Khristu, babhaphathizwa, abesilisa labesifazane.
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.
USimoni laye ngokwakhe wakholwa wabhaphathizwa. Walandela uFiliphu zonke indawo, emangaliswa yizibonakaliso ezinkulu lemimangaliso ayibonayo.
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.
Kwathi abapostoli eJerusalema sebezwile ukuthi iSamariya yase ilamukele ilizwi likaNkulunkulu, bathuma uPhethro loJohane kubo.
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.
Sebefikile babakhulekela ukuthi bemukele uMoya oNgcwele,
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].
ngoba uMoya oNgcwele wawulokhu ungakehleli lakubani kubo; babebhaphathizelwe ebizweni leNkosi uJesu kuphela.
17 [Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
Ngakho uPhethro loJohane bababeka izandla, basebewemukela uMoya oNgcwele.
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,
Kwathi uSimoni ebona ukuthi uMoya wawuphiwa ngokubekwa izandla ngabapostoli wabahuga ngemali
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].”
esithi, “Ngiphani lami lawomandla ukuze kuthi wonke lowo engimbeka izandla azuze uMoya oNgcwele.”
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)
UPhethro waphendula wathi, “Sengathi imali yakho ingabhubha kanye lawe ngoba ucabanga ukuthi ungasithenga isipho sikaNkulunkulu ngemali!
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.)
Kawulangxenye loba isabelo kulinkonzo ngoba inhliziyo yakho kayilunganga phambi kukaNkulunkulu.
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]
Phenduka kulobububi ukhuleke eNkosini. Mhlawumbe izakuthethelela ngokuba lomcabango onje enhliziyweni yakho.
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]!”
Ngoba ngiyabona ukuthi ugcwalelene ngomona njalo ugqilazwe yisono.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
USimoni wasephendula wathi, “Ngikhulekelani eNkosini ukuze ngingehlelwa laloba yikuphi lwalokho okutshiloyo.”
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].
Kwathi sebefakazile njalo balitshumayela ilizwi leNkosi, uPhethro loJohane babuyela eJerusalema, bahamba betshumayela ivangeli emizini eminengi yaseSamariya.
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.
Ingilosi yeNkosi yathi kuFiliphu, “Yehlela ezansi emgwaqweni, umgwaqo wenkangala, osuka eJerusalema usiya eGaza.”
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],
Ngakho wasesuka, kwathi endleleni leyo wahlangana lomTopiya ongumthenwa, eyisikhulu esiqakathekileyo esasiphethe ingcebo kaKhandaki, indlovukazi yamaTopiya. Indoda le yayikade iye eJerusalema ukuyakhonza,
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].
isisendleleni yokubuyela ekhaya ihlezi enqoleni yayo ibala incwadi ka-Isaya umphrofethi.
29 [God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
UMoya watshela uFiliphu wathi, “Hamba usondele enqoleni leyana walele eduze kwayo.”
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?”
UFiliphu wasegijimela kuyo inqola wezwa indoda leyo ibala u-Isaya umphrofethi. UFiliphu wayibuza wathi, “Uyakuzwisisa yini lokho okubalayo?”
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].
Yathi, “Ngingakuzwisisa kanjani kungekho muntu ongichazelayo na?” Yasicela uFiliphu ukuthi agade azohlala layo.
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].
Indoda engumthenwa yayibala indima yombhalo ethi: “Waqhutshwa njengemvu isiwa esilaheni, njengezinyane lemvu elithula zwi phambi komgundi, kanjalo kazange awuvule umlomo wakhe.
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.
Ekugconweni kwakhe wancitshwa ukwahlulelwa okulungileyo. Ngubani ongakhuluma ngezizukulwane zakhe na? Ngoba ukuphila kwakhe kwasuswa emhlabeni.”
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?”
Indoda engumthenwa yabuza uFiliphu yathi, “Ake ungitshele bakithi, umphrofethi ukhuluma ngobani, yena ngokwakhe kumbe ngomunye umuntu?”
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].
UFiliphu wahle waqalisa ngaleyondima yoMbhalo, wayitshela izindaba ezinhle ngoJesu.
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]”
Bathi belokhu behamba ngomgwaqo bafika lapho okwakulamanzi khona, indoda engumthenwa yathi, “Khangela, nanka amanzi. Kulani ukuthi ngihle ngibhaphathizwe na?” [
UFiliphu wathi, “Nxa ukholwa ngenhliziyo yakho yonke ungabhaphathizwa.” Isikhulu saphendula sathi, “Ngiyakholwa ukuthi uJesu Khristu uyiNdodana kaNkulunkulu.”]
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.
Isikhulu sathi inqola kayimiswe. Ngakho bobabili, uFiliphu lendoda engumthenwa baya emanzini uFiliphu wayibhaphathiza.
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].
Bathi bephuma emanzini uMoya weNkosi wahle wamthatha uFiliphu, indoda engumthenwa ayabe isambona njalo, kodwa yaqhubeka ngendlela yayo ithokoza.
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].
Kodwa uFiliphu wabonakala e-Azotha, walidabula ilizwe etshumayela ivangeli kuyo yonke imizi waze wayafika eKhesariya.
