Mabasa 8
1 Zvino Sauro wakange achitenderana nerufu rwake. Zvino pazuva iro kwamuka kushushwa kukuru kwakanangana nekereke yaiva paJerusarema; vese ndokuparadzirwa kunyika dzese dzeJudhiya neSamaria, kunze kwevaapositori.
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 Varume vaitya Mwari vakaviga Sitefano, vakamuchema zvikuru.
3 Asi Sauro wakaparadza kereke, achipinda muimba imwe neimwe, achikakata varume nevakadzi nekukumikidza mutirongo.
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 Naizvozvo avo vakange vaparadzirwa vakagura vachiparidza shoko.
The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
5 Firipi ndokuburukira kuguta reSamaria, akaparidza Kristu kwavari.
[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 Zvaunga ndokuteerera nemoyo umwe kuzvinhu zvinotaurwa naFiripi, pavakanzwa nekuona zviratidzo zvaaiita.
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 Nokuti mweya yetsvina yakabuda kuvazhinji vaiva vakabatwa, ichidanidzira nenzwi guru; nevazhinji vakange vakafa mitezo nevaikamhina vakaporeswa.
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 Zvino kwakava nemufaro mukuru muguta iro.
So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
9 Zvino umwe murume, wainzi Simoni, waimboita un'anga paguta, achishamisa rudzi rweSamaria, achizviti munhu mukuru;
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 wavaiteerera vese kubva kumudiki kusvika kumukuru, vachiti: Uyu isimba guru raMwari.
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 Zvino vaimuteerera, nokuti wakange avashamisa neun'anga nguva refu.
They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
12 Zvino vakati vatenda Firipi achiparidza mashoko akanaka nezveushe hwaMwari uye nezvezita raJesu Kristu, vakabhabhatidzwa vese varume nevakadzi.
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 NaSimoniwo pachake wakatenda, zvino wakati abhabhatidzwa, wakagara naFiripi; akashamisika, achiona mabasa esimba nezviratidzo zvaiitwa.
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 Zvino vaapositori vaiva paJerusarema vakati vanzwa kuti Samaria yagamuchira shoko raMwari, vakatumira kwavari Petro naJohwani;
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 ivo vakati vaburukirako vakavanyengeterera, kuti vagamuchire Mweya Mutsvene;
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 nokuti wakange asati aburukira pamusoro peumwe wavo, asi vakange vabhabhatidzwa muzita raIshe Jesu chete.
[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 Ipapo vakaisa maoko pamusoro pavo, zvino vakagamuchira Mweya Mutsvene.
[Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
18 Zvino Simoni wakati aona kuti nekuiswa kwemaoko evaapositori Mweya Mutsvene waipiwa, akavavigira mari,
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 achiti: Ndipei neni simba iri, kuti pana ani nani wandinoisa maoko pamusoro, agamuchire Mweya Mutsvene.
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 Asi Petro wakati kwaari: Sirivheri yako pamwe newe ngazvive zvekuparadzwa, nokuti wafunga kuti chipo chaMwari chingawanikwa nemari.
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 Hauna mugove kana nhaka pashoko iri. Nokuti moyo wako hauna kururama pamberi paMwari.
[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 Naizvozvo tendeuka pakuipa kwako uku, ukumbirise Mwari, kuti zvimwe murangariro wemoyo wako uukanganwirwe.
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 Nokuti ndinoona kuti uri munduru inovava, uye musungo weuipi.
[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 Zvino Simoni akapindura akati: Ndikumbirirei imwi kuna Ishe, kuti pasava nechimwe chezvinhu zvamataura chingawira pamusoro pangu.
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
25 Naizvozvo vakati vapupura nekutaura shoko raIshe, vakadzokera kuJerusarema, uye vakaparidza evhangeri mumisha mizhinji yeVaSamaria.
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 Zvino mutumwa waIshe wakataura kuna Firipi, achiti: Simuka, upfuurire kuchamhembe kunzira inoburuka kubva kuJerusarema ichienda kuGaza; iyo irenje.
[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 Zvino wakasimuka akaenda; zvino tarira murume weEtiopia, mutenwa, gurukota guru raKandase mambokadzi weVaEtiopia, waiona nezvefuma yake yese, uye wakange auya kuJerusarema kuzonamata,
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 wakange achidzokera uye agere mungoro yake, achiverenga muporofita Isaya.
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 Mweya ndokuti kuna Firipi: Swedera unamatire pangoro iyi.
[God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
30 Firipi ndokumhanyirako, akamunzwa achiverenga muporofita Isaya, ndokuti: Zvino unonzwisisa zvaunoverenga here?
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 Iye ndokuti: Zvino ndingagona sei, kunze kwekuti umwe munhu andirairira? Zvino akakumbira Firipi kuti akwire agare naye.
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 Zvino ndima yerugwaro yaaiverenga yaiva iyi: Wakatungamirirwa segwai rinoenda kunobaiwa; uye segwayana rinyerere pamberi pemuvevuri waro, saizvozvo haana kushamisa muromo wake.
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 Mukuninipiswa kwake mutongo wake wakabviswa, zvino ndiani acharondedzera zera rake? Nokuti upenyu hwake hunobviswa panyika.
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 Mutenwa ndokupindura Firipi akati: Ndinokukumbirisa, muporofita anoreva izvi maererano nani? Nezvake amene kana nezveumwewo?
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 Firipi ndokuzarura muromo wake; akatanga parugwaro irworwo, ndokumuparidzira Jesu.
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 Zvino pavaifamba munzira, vakasvika pane imwe mvura; mutenwa ndokuti: Heyi mvura; chii chinondidzivirira kubhabhatidzwa?
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 Firipi ndokuti: Kana uchitenda nemoyo wese, zvinotenderwa. Akapindura ndokuti: Ndinotenda kuti Jesu Kristu Mwanakomana waMwari.
38 Zvino akaraira ngoro kuti imire; ndokuburukira mumvura vari vaviri, Firipi nemutenwa; ndokumubhabhatidza.
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 Zvino vakati vakwira kubva mumvura, Mweya waIshe wakabvuta Firipi; mutenwa ndokusazomuonazve; nokuti wakafamba nenzira yake achifara.
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 Asi Firipi wakawanikwa paAzota; uye achipfuura wakaparidza evhangeri kumaguta ese, kusvikira asvika paKesariya.
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].
