When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
- KJV And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
- NKJV And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
- NASB Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,
- NLT When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power.
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
Simon, seeing the Spirit given through the apostles' hands, offered them money for the power. His response exposes a heart seeking spiritual power for selfish ends.
Overview
Simon's attempt to buy the ability to confer the Spirit reveals that his heart was set on power and prestige, not on Christ. From this episode comes the term 'simony,' the sin of trafficking in sacred things. His action shows that he misunderstood the gift of God as something purchasable.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Tim 6:5and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- Matt 10:8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
- 2 Kgs 8:9So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
- 2 Kgs 5:15–16Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “Now I know for sure that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
- Ezek 13:19You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.
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 8:18 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.