Common English Bible CEB
The Message Bible MSG
26 An angel from the Lord spoke to Philip, "At noon, take the road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.)
26
Later God's angel spoke to Philip: "At noon today I want you to walk over to that desolate road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza."
27 So he did. Meanwhile, an Ethiopian man was on his way home from Jerusalem, where he had come to worship. He was a eunuch and an official responsible for the entire treasury of Candace. (Candace is the title given to the Ethiopian queen.)
27
He got up and went. He met an Ethiopian eunuch coming down the road. The eunuch had been on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia, where he was minister in charge of all the finances of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.
28 He was reading the prophet Isaiah while sitting in his carriage.
28
He was riding in a chariot and reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Spirit told Philip, "Approach this carriage and stay with it."
29
The Spirit told Philip, "Climb into the chariot."
30 Running up to the carriage, Philip heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you really understand what you are reading?"
30
Running up alongside, Philip heard the eunuch reading Isaiah and asked, "Do you understand what you're reading?"
31 The man replied, "Without someone to guide me, how could I?" Then he invited Philip to climb up and sit with him.
31
He answered, "How can I without some help?" and invited Philip into the chariot with him.
32 This was the passage of scripture he was reading: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent so he didn't open his mouth.
32
The passage he was reading was this: As a sheep led to slaughter, and quiet as a lamb being sheared, He was silent, saying nothing.
33 In his humiliation justice was taken away from him. Who can tell the story of his descendants because his life was taken from the earth?
33
He was mocked and put down, never got a fair trial. But who now can count his kin since he's been taken from the earth?
34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? Is he talking about himself or someone else?"
34
The eunuch said, "Tell me, who is the prophet talking about: himself or some other?"
35 Starting with that passage, Philip proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him.
35
Philip grabbed his chance. Using this passage as his text, he preached Jesus to him.
36 As they went down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, "Look! Water! What would keep me from being baptized?"
36
As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, "Here's water. Why can't I be baptized?"
38 He ordered that the carriage halt. Both Philip and the eunuch went down to the water, where Philip baptized him.
38
He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Lord's Spirit suddenly took Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.
39
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn't mind. He had what he'd come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.