John 20:22

John 20:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
• New International Version (NIV)And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Context of John 20:22

20After he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very, very happy when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, in the same way I am now sending you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them. He said, ‘Receive God's Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive a person's sins, God will forgive them too. If you do not forgive them, God will not forgive them.’ 24One of the 12 disciples was called Thomas. (He was also called ‘the Twin’.) He was not with the other disciples when Jesus came to them.

John 20:22 word by word

καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἐνεφύσησεν καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· λάβετε πνεῦμα ἅγιον.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• when he had saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• he breathed onἐμφυσάωemphusaō · to breathe intoG1720
• saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Receive yeλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
• the Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
• Ghostπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151

Cross-references for John 20:22

• Genesis 2:7Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and he made a man. He breathed air into the nose of the man to give him life. So the man became alive.
• Job 33:4The Spirit of Almighty God has made me. His breath gives me life.
• Psalms 33:6The word of the Lord made the heavens. When he spoke, all the stars in the sky appeared.
• Ezekiel 37:9Then the Lord said to me, ‘Prophesy to the wind, son of man. Speak my message to the wind. Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Blow from all directions and put breath into these dead bodies! Cause them to become alive again.” ’
• John 14:16I will ask the Father to help you with this. He will send another Helper to be with you. That Helper will stay with you for ever.
• John 15:26When I return to my Father, I will send the Helper to you. The Helper is God's Spirit who speaks only true things. He comes to you from the Father. I will send him to you and he will speak true things about me.
• John 16:7But what I tell you is true. It will be better for you if I go away. Because, if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, I will send him to you.
• Acts 2:4All the believers became full with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned. They spoke whatever language the Holy Spirit helped them to speak.
• Acts 4:8Then Peter became full with the Holy Spirit and he said to them, ‘All you men are rulers of the people and important Jews.
• Acts 8:15When these two apostles arrived in Samaria, they prayed for the people who now believed in Jesus. They asked God to give the new believers the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 10:47‘God has clearly given his Holy Spirit to these people, in the same way that he gave him to us. So we should now baptize them with water. You surely agree that this is the right thing to do.’
• Acts 19:2Paul asked them, ‘When you believed the message about Jesus, did you receive God's Holy Spirit?’ The believers answered, ‘We did not even know that there is a Holy Spirit.’
• Galatians 3:2So think about this: When you received God's Spirit, was it because you had obeyed the rules of God's Law? No! You received God's Spirit because you heard the message about Christ and you believed it.

Commentaries on John 20:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22He breathed on them - Intimating, by this, that they were to be made new men, in order to be properly qualified for the work to which he had called them; for in this breathing he evidently alluded to the first creation of man, when God breathed into him the breath of lives, and he became a living soul: the breath or Spirit of God (אלהים רוח ruach Elohim ) being the grand principle and cause of his spiritual and Divine life. Receive ye the Holy Ghost…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22He breathed on them - It was customary for the prophets to use some significant act to represent the nature of their message. See Genesis 2:7. The word rendered “spirit” in the Scriptures denotes wind, air, breath, as well as Spirit. Hence, the operations of the Holy Spirit are compared to the wind, John 3:8; Acts 2:2. Receive ye the Holy Ghost - His breathing on them was a certain sign or pledge that they would be endowed with the influences of the Holy…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-25Verses 19-25 This was the first day of the week, and this day is afterwards often mentioned by the sacred writers; for it was evidently set apart as the Christian sabbath, in remembrance of Christ's resurrection. The disciples had shut the doors for fear of the Jews; and when they had no such expectation, Jesus himself came and stood in the midst of them, having miraculously, though silently, opened the doors. It is a comfort to Christ's disciples, when…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22Jesus commissioned his disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given earlier, because Jesus had not yet been glorified (7:39). After his resurrection, the glorified Jesus gave the Spirit to his followers. This gift fulfilled many promises that the Spirit would be sent (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13). It also points ahead to the Spirit’s powerful coming at Pentecost (Acts 1:4–5; 2:1–47).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2319-23. the same day at evening, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus--plainly not by the ordinary way of entrance. and saith unto them Peace be unto you--not the mere wish that even His own exalted peace might be theirs (Joh 14:27), but conveying it into their hearts, even as He "opened their understandings to understand the scriptures" (Lu 24:45).Read the comment

Topics related to John 20:22

• Holy Spirit
• Jesus, the Christ
• Trinity

In the dictionaries

• Holy Ghost
• Reach
• Remit
• Sabbath
• Thrust
• Wrap
• Baptism of the Holy Spirit
• Body, Spiritual
• Breath; Breathe; Breathing
• Holy Spirit

Commentaries on John 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings