And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!
- KJV And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
- BSB When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
- NKJV And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
- NLT Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the 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
Jesus breathes on the disciples and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. He gives the Spirit who empowers their mission.
Overview
The act of breathing recalls God breathing life into Adam (Genesis 2:7), signaling new creation. Christians differ over how this relates to Pentecost (Acts 2): some see a foretaste or symbolic act, others an initial impartation later filled out at Pentecost. Either way, the risen Christ is the giver of the Spirit who alone enables gospel ministry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Job 33:4The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
- Gen 2:7Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- Acts 8:15who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit;
- John 7:39But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn’t yet glorified.
- Acts 2:38Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Ezek 37:9Then he said to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.
- Acts 19:2He 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.”
- Ps 33:6By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.
- Acts 4:8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
- Acts 2:4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
- John 14:16I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever, —
- Gal 3:2I just want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing of faith?
- John 15:26“When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.
- Acts 10:47“Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.”
- John 16:7Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 20:22 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.