Acts 8:19

Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Saying	λέγων· legōn	G3004	properly · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
me	δότε dote	G1325	to give (used in a very wide application · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural
also	κἀγώ kagṓ	G2504	so also the dative case
this	ταύτην, tautēn	G3778	the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — accusative singular feminine
power	ἐξουσίαν exousian	G1849	privilege · noun — accusative singular feminine
that	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
whomsoever	ᾧ hō	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — dative singular masculine
lay	ἐπιθῶ epithō	G2007	to impose (in a friendly or hostile sense) · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 1st person singular
hands	χεῖρας cheiras	G5495	the hand (literally or figuratively (power) · noun — accusative plural feminine
receive	λαμβάνῃ lambanē	G2983	while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
Holy	ἅγιον. hagion	G40	sacred (physically · adjective — accusative singular neuter
Ghost	πνεῦμα pneuma	G4151	a current of air · noun — accusative singular neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 14:7-11 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,
Matthew 18:1-3 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
John 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
3 John 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
Acts 8:9-11 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out t…
Acts 8:17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians 15:8-9 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 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 (Act 8:1), and thither these good tidings were brought them that Samaria had received the word of God (Act 8:14), 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…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 8:19

that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost--Spiritual ambition here shows itself the key to this wretched man's character.

Adam Clarke on Acts 8:18

When Simon saw, etc. - By hearing these speak with different tongues and work miracles. He offered them money - Supposing that the dispensing this Spirit belonged to them - that they could give it to whomsoever they pleased; and imagining that, as he saw them to be poor men, they would not object to take money for their gift; and it is probable that he had gained considerably by his juggling, and therefore could afford to spare some, as he hoped to make it all up by the profit which he expected to derive from this new influence.

John Gill on Acts 8:19

Saying, give me also this power,.... He does not ask them to lay their hands on him, that he might receive the Holy Ghost, and have these gifts to exercise himself, but that he might have the power of conferring them on others: that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost; in which he discovered his ambition and avarice: his ambition, that he might be above Philip; who though he had these gifts, yet had not a power to lay on hands, and thereby convey them unto others; he perceived that this was purely apostolical; and indeed, what he requested was more than what the apostles could do; for though upon their prayers, and through the imposition of their hands, the gifts of the…

The Church Fathers

He did not say, "Give me also the participation in the Holy Ghost," but "Give me this power," with a view to selling to others what could not be sold—something he himself did not possess.
— Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 16.10

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Apostle — A person sent by another; a messenger; envoy. This word is once used as a descriptive designation of Jesus Christ, the Sent of the Father (Heb. 3:1; John 20:21). It is, however, generally used as…
Magic — The Jews seem early to have consulted the teraphim (q.v.) for oracular answers (Judg. 18:5, 6; Zech. 10:2). There is a remarkable illustration of this divining by teraphim in Ezek. 21:19-22. We read…
Peter — Originally called Simon (=Simeon, i.e., “hearing”), a very common Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona (Matt. 16:17). His mother is nowhere named in Scripture. He had a younger…
Philip The Evangelist — is first mentioned in the account of the dispute between the Hebrew and Hellenistic disciples in Acts 6. He is one of the deacons appointed to superintend the daily distribution of food and alms, and…
Simon — The abbreviated form of Simeon. (1.) One of the twelve apostles, called the Canaanite (Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18). This word “Canaanite” does not mean a native of Canaan, but is derived from the Syriac…
Holy Spirit · 1:9,32,33;3:5,6,34;4:14;6:45,63;7:38,39;14:16,17,26;15:26;16:7-14;20:22; — 1:9,32,33;3:5,6,34;4:14;6:45,63;7:38,39;14:16,17,26;15:26;16:7-14;20:22;
Hypocrites · Exemplified: Simon — Exemplified: Simon
Offences Against The Holy Spirit · Exhibited in: Undervaluing His gifts — Exhibited in: Undervaluing His gifts
Samaria · .Visited by Philip, Peter, and — .Visited by Philip, Peter, and
Simon · .Rebuked by Peter — .Rebuked by Peter
Simony · Ecclesiasti

Acts 8:19

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 8:14-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 8:19

Adam Clarke on Acts 8:18

John Gill on Acts 8:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Acts 8:19

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Acts 8:14-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 8:19

Adam Clarke on Acts 8:18

John Gill on Acts 8:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Acts 8:18-25

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Acts 8:14-17