and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” “No,” they answered, “we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
- KJV He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
- NKJV he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
- NASB He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “On the contrary, we have not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit.”
- NLT “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
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
Paul asked whether these disciples had received the Holy Spirit, and they replied they had not even heard of Him.
Overview
Their answer reveals they stood in an Old Covenant frame, perhaps knowing only John's preparatory ministry. Paul's question shows that receiving the Spirit is integral to genuine Christian conversion (Rom. 8:9). This unusual transitional case marks the moving forward of redemptive history as these believers are brought into the full blessings of Pentecost.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Cor 6:19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
- Gal 3:5Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?
- Acts 11:15–17As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.
- John 7:39He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
- Acts 19:5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
- 1 Sam 3:7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
- Rom 1:11For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,
- Acts 2:38–39Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Cor 12:1–11Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
- Acts 10:44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message.
- Acts 2:17‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
- Acts 8:15–17On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 19:2 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.