Apostlagärningarna 8
1 Och jämväl Saulus hade gillat att man dödade honom.
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 Några fromma män begrovo dock Stefanus och höllo en stor dödsklagan efter honom.
3 Saulus åter for våldsamt fram mot församlingen; han gick omkring i husen och drog fram män och kvinnor och lät sätta dem i fängelse.
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 Men de som hade blivit kringspridda gingo omkring och förkunnade evangelii ord.
The believers who had left Jerusalem went to different places, where they continued preaching the message about Jesus.
5 Och Filippus kom så ned till huvudstaden i Samarien och predikade Kristus för folket där.
[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 Och när de hörde Filippus och sågo de tecken som han gjorde, aktade de endräktigt på det som han talade.
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 Ty från många som voro besatta av orena andar foro andarna ut under höga rop, och många lama och ofärdiga blevo botade.
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 Och det blev stor glädje i den staden.
So [many people] [MTY] in that city greatly rejoiced.
9 Nu var där i staden före honom en man vid namn Simon, som hade övat trolldom, så att han hade slagit det samaritiska folket med häpnad, och som sade sig vara något stort.
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 Till honom höllo sig alla, både små och stora, och sade: "Denne är vad man kallar 'Guds stora kraft.'"
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 Och de höllo sig till honom, därför att han genom sina trollkonster under ganska lång tid hade slagit dem med häpnad.
They continued to listen to him carefully, because for a long time he had astonished them by practicing sorcery.
12 Men nu, då de satte tro till Filippus, som förkunnade evangelium om Guds rike och om Jesu Kristi namn, läto de döpa sig, både män och kvinnor.
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 Ja, Simon själv kom till tro; och sedan han hade blivit döpt, höll han sig ständigt till Filippus. Och när han såg de stora tecken och kraftgärningar som denne gjorde, betogs han av häpnad.
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 Då nu apostlarna i Jerusalem fingo höra att Samarien hade tagit emot Guds ord, sände de dit Petrus och Johannes.
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 Och när dessa kommo ditned, bådo de för dem, att de måtte undfå helig ande;
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 ty helig ande hade ännu icke fallit på någon av dem, utan de voro allenast döpta i Herren Jesu namn.
[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 De lade då händerna på dem, och de undfingo helig ande.
[Then Peter and John] placed their hands on [the heads of] each person, and they received the [power of] [MTY] the Holy Spirit.
18 När då Simon såg att det var genom apostlarnas handpåläggning som Anden blev given, bjöd han dem penningar
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 och sade: "Given ock mig den makten, så att var och en som jag lägger händerna på undfår helig ande."
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 Då sade Petrus till honom: "Må dina penningar med dig själv gå i fördärvet, eftersom du menar att Guds gåva kan köpas för penningar.
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 Du har ingen del eller lott i det som här är fråga om, ty ditt hjärta är icke rättsinnigt inför Gud.
[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 Gör fördenskull bättring och upphör med denna din ondska, och bed till Herren att den tanke som har uppstått i ditt hjärta må, om möjligt är, bliva dig förlåten.
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 Ty jag ser att du är förgiftad av ondska och fången i orättfärdighetens bojor."
[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 Då svarade Simon och sade: "Bedjen I till Herren för mig, att intet av det som I haven sagt må komma över mig."
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord [God] that [he] will not do to me what you just said!”
25 Och sedan de hade framburit sitt vittnesbörd och talat Herrens ord, begåvo de sig tillbaka till Jerusalem och förkunnade därvid evangelium i många samaritiska byar.
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 Men en Herrens ängel talade till Filippus och sade: "Stå upp och begiv dig vid middagstiden ut på den väg som leder ned från Jerusalem till Gasa; den är tom på folk."
[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 Då stod han upp och begav sig åstad. Och se, en etiopisk man for där fram, en hovman som var en mäktig herre hos Kandace, drottningen i Etiopien, och var satt över hela hennes skattkammare. Denne hade kommit till Jerusalem för att där tillbedja,
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 men var nu stadd på hemvägen och satt i sin vagn och läste profeten Esaias.
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 Då sade Anden till Filippus: "Gå fram och närma dig till denna vagn."
[God’s] Spirit told Philip, “Go near to that chariot and keep walking close to [the man who is riding in] it!”
30 Filippus skyndade fram och hörde att han läste profeten Esaias. Då frågade han: "Förstår du vad du läser?"
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 Han svarade: "Huru skulle jag väl kunna förstå det, om ingen vägleder mig?" Och han bad Filippus stiga upp och sätta sig bredvid honom.
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 Men det ställe i skriften som han läste var detta: "Såsom ett får fördes han bort till att slaktas; och såsom ett lamm som är tyst inför den som klipper det, så öppnade han icke sin mun.
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 Genom hans förnedring blev hans dom borttagen. Vem kan räkna hans släkte? Ty hans liv ryckes undan från jorden."
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 Och hovmannen frågade Filippus och sade: "Jag beder dig, säg mig om vilken profeten talar detta, om sig själv eller om någon annan?"
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 Då öppnade Filippus sin mun och begynte med detta skriftens ord och förkunnade för honom evangelium om Jesus.
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 Och medan de färdades vägen fram, kommo de till ett vatten. Då sade hovmannen: "Se, här finnes vatten. Vad hindrar att jag döpes?"
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]”
38 Och han lät vagnen stanna; och de stego båda ned i vattnet, Filippus och hovmannen, och han döpte honom.
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 Men när de hade stigit upp ur vattnet, ryckte Herrens Ande bort Filippus, och hovmannen såg honom icke mer, då han nu glad fortsatte sin färd.
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 Men Filippus blev efteråt sedd i Asdod. Därefter vandrade han omkring och förkunnade evangelium i alla städer, till dess han kom till Cesarea.
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].
