And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Parallel translations
- WEB When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing.
- BSB When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
- NKJV Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
- NASB When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
- NLT When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.
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
After the baptism the Spirit carried Philip away, and the eunuch continued home rejoicing. Salvation brings deep and lasting joy.
Overview
The sudden removal of Philip underscores that this whole encounter was a work of God, not mere coincidence. The eunuch's rejoicing reflects the fruit of genuine conversion, joy rooted in being reconciled to God through Christ. Tradition holds he carried the gospel back to his homeland, an early sign of the mission to the ends of the earth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 26
- 1 Kgs 18:12And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.
- 2 Kgs 2:16And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
- Ezek 8:3And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
- Ezek 43:5So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
- Ezek 11:1Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD’s house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
- Ezek 11:24Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
- Ezek 3:12–14Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from his place.
- 2 Cor 12:2–4I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
- Mark 1:10And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
- Rom 15:10–13And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
- Phil 3:3For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
- Matt 13:44Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
- Matt 3:16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
- Rom 5:2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
- Isa 35:1–2The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
- Isa 66:13–14As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
- Isa 61:10I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
- Acts 8:8And there was great joy in that city.
- Acts 13:52And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.
- Phil 4:4Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
- Jas 4:16But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
- Jas 1:9–10Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
- Ps 119:111Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
- Ps 119:14I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
- Acts 16:34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
- Isa 55:12–13For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
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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 8:39 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
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