ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Acts 19.4

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV (ASV)

"2. and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given. 3. And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism."

"4. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him that should come after him, that is, on Jesus."

"5. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." (Acts 19:2-6, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"2. 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.” 3. He said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”"

"4. Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”"

"5. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with other languages and prophesied." (Acts 19:2-6, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"2. 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. 3. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism."

"4. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."

"5. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." (Acts 19:2-6, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"2. he said unto them, 'The Holy Spirit did ye receive, having believed?' and they said unto him, 'But we did not even hear whether there is any Holy Spirit;' 3. and he said unto them, 'To what, then, were ye baptized?' and they said, 'To John's baptism.'"

"4. And Paul said, 'John, indeed, did baptize with a baptism of reformation, saying to the people that in him who is coming after him they should believe, that is, in the Christ, Jesus;'"

"5. and they, having heard, were baptized, to the name of the Lord Jesus, 6. and Paul having laid on them [his] hands, the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were speaking also with tongues, and prophesying," (Acts 19:2-6, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Luke the physician (traditionally) / narrator + multiple speeches (Peter, Stephen, Paul)
  • Audience: Theophilus + Gentile Christian audience (companion to Luke)
  • Location: Jerusalem → Judea → Samaria → Asia Minor → Greece → Rome
  • Time period: events c. AD 30-62; composed c. AD 62-80

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.