Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Parallel translations
- WEB “Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.”
- BSB “Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!”
- NKJV “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
- NASB “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”
- NLT “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Peter asks whether anyone can withhold baptism from those who have received the Spirit just as the apostles did. God's prior acceptance makes baptism the fitting response.
Overview
Since God has plainly given the Gentiles His Spirit, Peter sees no ground to deny them the water of baptism. The inward gift is matched by the outward sign of belonging to God's people. Peter's question puts the burden on any who would still exclude Gentiles, for God has already received them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 8:36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
- Acts 11:15–17And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
- Rom 10:12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
- Acts 15:8–9And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
- Gen 17:24–26And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- Acts 8:12But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
- Acts 2:4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- Rom 4:11And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 10:47 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.