Ma'asei ha'Shlichim (Acts of the Apostles) - Chapter 8:

1 Now Shaul approved and acted in the murder of Stephen and in that day there was a great persecution of the Knushta d'Yerushalayim* and all of them became scattered throughout the villages of Judaea. The Apostles were the only ones left in Yerushalayim.

2 And the believers took up the body of Stephen and buried him and they were mourning over him intensely.

3 Now Shaul persecuted the Adath d'Alaha* and he entered into the homes of the men and women and dragged them way and delivered them over to prison*.

4 And all those who were dispersed travelled about and taught of the Aish d'Miltha d'Alaha *.

5 Filipos went down to one of the cities of the Samaritans and he taught them concerning Mshikha.

6 And when they heard his teaching the men who were there began to listen carefully and they believed what he was teaching due to the signs and miracles that had been made through him.

7 And many of those who had been overpowered by unclean spirits began crying out in a loud voice and they went out from them and there were others (such as) paralytics and the ill who were healed.

8 And a great rejoicing was made within the city.

9 Now there was a certain man whose name was Shimon who lived in that city who had been deceiving the people with his divination. And his pride caused him to proclaim to all those around him, "I am great!"

10 And all the people were bowing before him, from the least to the greatest of the people and they were saying among themselves, "This is indeed the power from God."

11 And the people continued to tell him that he was the power of God due to the length of time he had been in that city performing divination.

12 But those who believed in the teaching that was given through Filipos concerning the Kingdom of God, all those men and women were baptised in the Name of Maran Yeshua Mshikha.

13 And it came about that even Shimon believed in the teaching and was baptised. For Shimon had begun to hold fast to what Filipos was teaching when he saw the great signs and miracles that took place in his hand*. Shimon was amazed and he marvelled at such miracles.

14 And when the Shlikhim who were in Yerushalayim had heard that the people of Samaria accepted the Word of God, they sent to them Shimon Keipha and Yokhanan.

15 And Shimon Keipha and Yokhanan* went down to them

16 and both of them prayed so that they might receive Holy Spirit.

17 After they placed their hands on them they received Holy Spirit.

18 And when Shimon saw that Holy Spirit was given after the Shlikhim were placing their hands on the people, he offered to them silver.

19 And Shimon said, "You should also give to me this authority to place my hand upon a man so that he might receive Holy Spirit."

20 And Shimon Keipha said to him, "Your silver will go with you into destruction because you believed that the gift of God could be purchased with the goods of the world."

21 "You will have no portion in this faith due to your heart not being proper* before God."

22 "You must repent of this evil and request that God forgive you and you will be forgiven of the guile of your heart."

23 "For I see that you will be in bitter anger and in the bonds of iniquity."

24 Shimon said to him, "I beg you for my sake that none of these things come upon me.*"

25 Now Shimon Keipha and Yokhanan, after teaching concerning the Word of God, returned to Yerushalayim and preached within many of the villages of the Samaritans.*

26 An angel of Mar-Yah spoke with Filipos and said to him, "Go to the south on the desert road that goes down from Yerushalayim to Gaza."

27 And he arose and went out and encountered a certain believer who had come from Cush, an official of tof Qandaq* of the queen of the Cushites*. And he was in authority over all of the treasure of the queen and he came to worship in Yerushalayim.

28 And while he was travelling he sat in a chariot reading from Sefer Ishayah ha'Navi*.

29 And she*, the Spirit, said to Filipos, "Draw near and follow the chariot."

30 And when he had drawn near he heard that he was reading from Sefer Ishayah ha'Navi and he said to him, "Do you understand what you read?"

31 And the believer said, "How am I able to understand unless someone teaches me?" And he begged Filipos that he come and sit with him in the chariot.

32 The verse of Scripture in which he was reading was this*: "As a lamb to the slaughter he was led and as a ewe before the shearer is silent, in like manner he did not open his mouth."

33 "By humiliation and judgement he was confined; and his generation considered that his life was taken out of the earth."

34 And the believer said to Filipos, "I beg you concerning this; whom did this prophet speak? Was he speaking concerning himself or another man?"

35 And Filipos opened his mouth and began teaching him from the Scriptures concerning Maran Yeshua.

36 And when they continued on the road they arrived at a certain place that had a body of water and the believer said,

37 "Look! A body of water! What prevents me from being baptised?"

38 So he commanded the chariot to stop and both of them went down to the body of water and he was baptised by Filipos.

39 And after they got up from the body of water the Spirit of Mar-Yah took Filipos and the believer did not see him again, but he left that place rejoicing on his way.

40 Filipos was (then) found at Azotus and from there he was travelling about and teaching in the various cities until he came to Caesarea.

Notes:

1 Knushta d'Yerushalayim. "Assembly of Jerusalem"/"Church of Jerusalem" Others, "church at Jerusalem", "church in Jerusalem"

3 Adath d'Alaha. "congregation of God" or, "assembly of God". Heb: "Adath ha'Elohim"

3 prison. Others, "the prisons"

4 Aish d'Miltha d'Alaha. Aramaic dialect for "fire of the Word of God".

13 in his hand. Dialect: "byado". Two Hebrew targumim use the term "al-yado" (by his hand)

15 Shimon Keipha and Yokhanan. As. Ar. lacks these names, but are present in all targumim of CoJ

21 proper. Or "straight"

25 M92 says "And Shimon and Yokhanan, after teaching the Word of God, returned to Yerushalayim and preached within many villages of the Samaritans on their way to Yerushalayim."

27 Qandaq. Candace.

27 Cushites. Ethiopians. Heb. "eth'yopim"

28 Sefer Ishayah ha'Navi. "the scroll of Isaiah the Prophet"

29, she. All CoJ targumim, including various other Aramaic and Assyrian Aramaic manuscripts indicate "she" or a feminine verb for "say". Targumim read: "And say she the Spirit to Filipos..."

32 Ishayah 53:7,8