Acts 8:26-40

The Conversion of the Ethiopian Official

26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: "Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to desert Gaza."^[a]

27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem

28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.

29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go and join that chariot."

30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you're reading?"

31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone guides me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so He does not open His mouth.

33 In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who will describe His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. ^[b]

34 The eunuch replied to Philip, "I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about-himself or another person?"

35 So Philip proceeded^[c] to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.

36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, "Look, there's water! What would keep me from being baptized?" [

37 And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart you may." And he replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."]^[d]

38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing.

40 Philip appeared in^[e] Azotus,^[f] and passing through, he was evangelizing all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Footnotes

• [a] Perhaps old Gaza or the road near the desert
• [b] Isaiah 53:7-8
• [c] Lit Philip opened his mouth
• [d] Other mss omit bracketed text
• [e] Or Philip was found at, or Philip found himself in
• [f] Or Ashdod