And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they dwelt.

Now when [the Samaritans] the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles from the captivity were building a temple to the Lord God of Israel,

Then [the Samaritans and others of] the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them [to deter them] from building,

Now in the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes), in the beginning of his reign, the Samaritans wrote [to him] an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem [who had returned from exile].

Rehum the [Persian] commander [of the Samaritans] and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows—

He addressed his allies and the Samaritan officials, saying "What are these pathetic Jews doing? Are they intending to rebuild it by themselves? Do they intend to offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a single day? Can they make stones from this burned out rubble?"

"Listen to this message, you fat cows from Bashan, who live on the Samaritan mountains, who oppress the poor, who rob the needy, and who constantly ask your husbands for one more drink!"

Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them saying, "Do not go on the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans,

and sent messengers before Him: who went into a village of the Samaritans to get a place ready for Him.

And these Samaritans did not welcome Him because He was heading for Jerusalem. [Note: They perceived He was a Jew and Samaritans did not associate with Jews].

But a certain Samaritan, as he was travelling, came up to him, and when He saw him,

And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

And as He must pass through the country of Samaria, He came to a Samaritan city called Sichar,

Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me some water to drink."

The Samaritan woman therefore saith to him, How canst thou, a Jew, ask of me, who am a Samaritan woman, to drink? for Jews avoid all intercourse with Samaritans.

Jesus told her, "Believe me, dear lady, the hour is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

You Samaritans do not know what you are worshiping; we Jews do know what we are worshiping; for salvation comes from the Jews.

Just about then Jesus' disciples returned [from town], and were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. [Note: It was not customary for a Jewish male to engage a woman in extended conversation in that day, much less a stranger, and certainly not a Samaritan], yet no one said [to Him], "What are you looking for?" or "Why are you talking to her?"

Many of the Samaritans in that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony, when she said, "He has told me everything I ever did."

So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they kept on urging Him to stay with them; so He did stay there two days.

The Jews answered and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a demon?

So Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began to preach the Christ to the Samaritans.

There was a man named Simon in the city, who had kept the Samaritan people thrilled by practicing magic there and by claiming to be a great man.

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

They came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit;

Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, and they received the Holy Spirit.

And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.