20 And Peter said unto him, `Thy silver with thee -- may it be to destruction! because the gift of God thou didst think to possess through money;
and Peter said unto them, `Reform, and be baptized each of you on the name of Jesus Christ, to remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,
Then hath Daniel answered and said before the king, `Thy gifts be to thyself, and thy fee to another give; nevertheless, the writing I do read to the king, and the interpretation I cause him to know;
The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, far off shall stand because of the fear of her torment, weeping, and sorrowing,
this one, indeed, then, purchased a field out of the reward of unrighteousness, and falling headlong, burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed forth,
having eyes full of adultery, and unable to cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having an heart exercised in covetousnesses, children of a curse, having forsaken a right way, they did go astray, having followed in the way of Balaam the `son' of Bosor, who a reward of unrighteousness did love, and had a rebuke of his own iniquity -- a dumb ass, in man's voice having spoken, did forbid the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, and clouds by a tempest driven, to whom the thick gloom of the darkness to the age hath been kept;
your gold and silver have rotted, and the rust of them for a testimony shall be to you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye made treasure in the last days!
and those wishing to be rich, do fall into temptation and a snare, and many desires, foolish and hurtful, that sink men into ruin and destruction,
and those of the circumcision believing were astonished -- as many as came with Peter -- because also upon the nations the gift of the Holy Spirit hath been poured out,
reform, therefore, from this thy wickedness, and beseech God, if then the purpose of thy heart may be forgiven thee,
Then Judas -- he who delivered him up -- having seen that he was condemned, having repented, brought back the thirty silverlings to the chief priests, and to the elders, saying, `I did sin, having delivered up innocent blood;' and they said, `What -- to us? thou shalt see!' and having cast down the silverlings in the sanctuary, he departed, and having gone away, he did strangle himself.
for out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, whoredoms, thefts, false witnessings, evil speakings:
`I have brought it out -- an affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts -- and it hath come in unto the house of the thief, and unto the house of him who hath sworn in My name to a falsehood, and it hath remained in the midst of his house, and hath consumed it, both its wood and its stones.'
Wo `to' him who is gaining evil gain for his house, To set on high his nest, To be delivered from the hand of evil, Thou hast counselled a shameful thing to thy house, To cut off many peoples, and sinful `is' thy soul.
Ho, every thirsty one, come ye to the waters, And he who hath no money, Come ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy Without money and without price, wine and milk.
And he saith unto him, `My heart went not when the man turned from off his chariot to meet thee; is it a time to take silver, and to take garments, and olives, and vines, and flock, and herd, and men-servants, and maid-servants? yea, the leprosy of Naaman doth cleave to thee, and to thy seed, -- to the age;' and he goeth out from before him -- leprous as snow.
And he turneth back unto the man of God, he and all his camp, and cometh in, and standeth before him, and saith, `Lo, I pray thee, I have known that there is not a God in all the earth except in Israel; and now, take, I pray thee, a blessing from thy servant.' And he saith, `Jehovah liveth, before whom I have stood -- if I take `it';' and he presseth on him to take, and he refuseth.
And Joshua taketh Achan son of Zerah, and the silver, and the robe, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his ox, and his ass, and his flock, and his tent, and all that he hath, and all Israel with him, and they cause them to go up the valley of Achor. And Joshua saith, `What! thou hast troubled us! -- Jehovah doth trouble thee this day;' and all Israel cast stones at him, and they burn them with fire, and they stone them with stones,
`Take heed to thee lest there be a word in thy heart -- worthless, saying, Near `is' the seventh year, the year of release; and thine eye is evil against thy needy brother, and thou dost not give to him, and he hath called concerning thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee sin;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 8
Commentary on Acts 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 8
In this chapter we have an account of the persecutions of the Christians, and the propagating of Christianity thereby. It was strange, but very true, that the disciples of Christ the more they were afflicted the more they multiplied.
Act 8:1-3
In these verses we have,
Act 8:4-13
Samson's riddle is here again unriddled: Out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the strong sweetness. The persecution that was designed to extirpate the church was by the overruling providence of God made an occasion of the enlargement of it. Christ had said, I am come to send fire on the earth; and they thought, by scattering those who were kindled with that fire, to have put it out, but instead of this they did but help to spread it.
Act 8:14-25
God had wonderfully owned Philip in his work as an evangelist at Samaria, but he could do no more than an evangelist; there were some peculiar powers reserved to the apostles, for the keeping up of the dignity of their office, and here we have an account of what was done by two of them there-Peter and John. The twelve kept together at Jerusalem (v. 1), and thither these good tidings were brought them that Samaria had received the word of God (v. 14), that a great harvest of souls was gathered, and was likely to be gathered in to Christ there. The word of God was not only preached to them, but received by them; they bade it welcome, admitted the light of it, and submitted to the power of it: When they heard it, they sent unto them Peter and John. If Peter had been, as some say he was, the prince of the apostles, he would have sent some of them, or, if he had seen cause, would have gone himself of his own accord; but he was so far from this that he submitted to an order of the house, and, as a servant to the body, went whither they sent him. Two apostles were sent, the two most eminent, to Samaria,
Act 8:26-40
We have here the story of the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch to the faith of Christ, by whom, we have reason to think, the knowledge of Christ was sent into that country where he lived, and that scripture fulfilled, Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands (one of the first of the nations) unto God, Ps. 68:31.