Acts 8:5–13

⁵Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. ⁶The crowds all paid close attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform. ⁷With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

⁹Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, ¹⁰and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.” ¹¹They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.

¹²But 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. ¹³Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.