« Return to Online Bible

Acts 8:5

King James Version (KJV)

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Translations

Acts 8:5 - Amplified Bible

Philip [the deacon, not the apostle] went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ (the Messiah) to them [the people];

Acts 8:5 - American Standard Version

And Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.

Acts 8:5 - Bible in Basic English

And Philip went down to Samaria and was teaching them about Christ.

Acts 8:5 - Darby Bible

And Philip, going down to a city of Samaria, preached the Christ to them;

Acts 8:5 - English Standard Version

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Acts 8:5 - King James Version

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Acts 8:5 - La Biblia de las Americas

Felipe, descendiendo a la ciudad de Samaria, les predicaba a Cristo.

Acts 8:5 - The Message

Acts 8:5 - New American Standard Bible

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and {began} proclaiming Christ to them.

Acts 8:5 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy

Felipe, descendiendo a la ciudad de Samaria, les predicaba a Cristo (el Mesìas).

Acts 8:5 - World English Bible

Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Acts 8:5 - Young's Living Translation

And Philip having gone down to a city of Samaria, was preaching to them the Christ,

Acts 8:5 - Additional Comments

The city of Samaria is in the middle of the region of Samaria, between Galilee and Judea.
The Samaritans were looked on with disdain by the Jews. See the comments on Luke 10:29. The Samaritans were a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. So, here in Acts 8 we see the gospel being presented to the mixed Jew/Gentile people, and then in Acts 10 we see the gospel presented to Gentiles. A progression from Jew, to Samaritan, to Gentile.
Philip here appears to be one of the seven chosen to help serve, so the apostles could preach (Acts 6:1-6). Why? Stephen, one of the seven, "did great wonders and signs" (Acts 6:8), so Philip may have also had the capability to do so - as described in this chapter, they were "hearing and seeing the miracles which he did" (verse 6). After the stoning of Stephen (7:59-60), there arose a great persecution in the church (8:1). This caused all but the apostles to leave Jerusalem (8:1,14). Since Philip is here in Samaria, he probably was the Philip of the 7, not of the apostles.
Philip was probably relieved of his duties as deacon, maybe because of his desire to go and preach. Others were probably selected in his and Stephen's place to serve in Jerusalem.
Some speculate this was the same city or near it where Jesus preached (Sychar, where Jacob's well was - John 4:5). When Christ was there, many had believed.

Comments are closed.