Acts 8:17-19

8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, 1  and they received the Holy Spirit. 2 

8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit 3  was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power 4  too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.”

1 tn Grk “on them”; the referent (the Samaritans) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

2 sn 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.

3 tc Most witnesses (Ì45,74 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 Ac 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.

4 tn Or “ability”; Grk “authority.”