Acts 8:15-19

Context
8:15 These two¹ went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 8:16 (For the Spirit² had not yet come upon³ any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)⁴ 8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans,⁵ and they received the Holy Spirit.⁶

8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit⁷ was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power⁸ too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.”

[8:15] ¹tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the phrase “these two” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[8:16] ²tn Grk “For he”; the referent (the Spirit) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:16] ³tn Or “fallen on.”

[8:16] ⁴sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[8:17] ⁵tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the Samaritans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:17] ⁶sn They received the Holy Spirit. It is likely this special distribution of the Spirit took place because a key ethnic boundary was being crossed. Here are some of “those far off” of Acts 2:38-40.

[8:18] ⁷tc Most witnesses (Ì^45,74 A* C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï latt sy bo) here read “the Holy Spirit” (τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, to pneuma to {agion), while a few key mss have simply τὸ πνεῦμα (א A^c B sa mae). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted τὸ ἅγιον because of its perceived superfluity (note vv. 15, 17, 19), it is far more likely that others added the adjective out of pious motives.

[8:19] ⁸tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”