But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Parallel translations
- WEB But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
- KJV But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
- NKJV But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
- NASB But when they believed Philip as he was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were being baptized.
- NLT But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When they believed Philip's preaching of God's kingdom and Jesus' name, men and women were baptized. Genuine faith in Christ replaced their fascination with Simon.
Overview
The Samaritans believed Philip's gospel of the kingdom and the name of Jesus, and were baptized as a public confession of faith. Their turning from sorcery to Christ shows the gospel's superior, saving power. Baptism marked their entrance into the community of believers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Acts 2:38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 1:3After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
- Matt 28:19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
- Acts 2:41Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.
- 1 Pet 3:21And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
- Rom 10:10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
- Acts 28:31Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Acts 18:8Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.
- Acts 16:31–34They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
- Acts 16:14–15Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
- Luke 9:60But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
- Luke 9:2And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
- Acts 8:35–38Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
- Acts 20:21testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Acts 20:25Now I know that none of you among whom I have preached the kingdom will see my face again.
- Mark 16:15–16And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
- Acts 11:20But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
- 1 Cor 11:11In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
- Acts 5:14Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 8:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.