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And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven.

Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded, because every man heard them speaking in his own language.

And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, “Behold, are not all these who speak Galileans?

And how then do we each hear them speaking in our own tongue wherein we were born?

Parthians, Medes, Elamites and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretans and Arabians — we hear them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

12 And they were all amazed and were in doubt, saying one to another, “What meaneth this?”

13 Others mocking said, “These men are full of new wine.”

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, “Ye men of Judea and all ye who dwell in Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words.

15 For these are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day;

16 but this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

18 And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath — blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before that great and notable Day of the Lord come.

21 And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

22 “Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved of God among you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know —

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate will and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

24 But God hath raised Him up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

25 For David speaketh concerning Him: ‘I beheld the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.

26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope,

27 because Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.

28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance.’

29 “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.

30 Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn an oath to him that from the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne,

31 David, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ that ‘His soul was not left in hell, neither did His flesh see corruption.’

32 This Jesus hath God raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

33 Therefore, being exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.

34 For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he himself saith, ‘The Lord said unto my Lord, “Sit Thou on My right hand

35 until I make Thy foes Thy footstool.”’

36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

38 Then Peter said unto them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation.”

41 Then those who gladly received his words were baptized, and that same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers.

43 And fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common,

45 and they sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all men, as every man had need.

46 And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost(A) came, they were all together(B) in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.(C) They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit(D) and began to speak in other tongues[a](E) as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing(F) Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed,(G) they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?(H) Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,(I) Pontus(J) and Asia,[b](K) 10 Phrygia(L) and Pamphylia,(M) Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;(N) visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”(O)

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!(P) 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.(Q)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,(R)
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.(S)
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,(T)
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood(U)
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord(V) will be saved.’[c](W)

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth(X) was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,(Y) which God did among you through him,(Z) as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge;(AA) and you, with the help of wicked men,[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.(AB) 24 But God raised him from the dead,(AC) freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.(AD) 25 David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.(AE)
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[e](AF)

29 “Fellow Israelites,(AG) I can tell you confidently that the patriarch(AH) David died and was buried,(AI) and his tomb is here(AJ) to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.(AK) 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.(AL) 32 God has raised this Jesus to life,(AM) and we are all witnesses(AN) of it. 33 Exalted(AO) to the right hand of God,(AP) he has received from the Father(AQ) the promised Holy Spirit(AR) and has poured out(AS) what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’[f](AT)

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord(AU) and Messiah.”(AV)

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”(AW)

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,(AX) every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.(AY) And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(AZ) 39 The promise is for you and your children(BA) and for all who are far off(BB)—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”(BC) 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number(BD) that day.

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching(BE) and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread(BF) and to prayer.(BG) 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.(BH) 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.(BI) 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.(BJ) 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.(BK) They broke bread(BL) in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.(BM) And the Lord added to their number(BN) daily those who were being saved.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 2:4 Or languages; also in verse 11
  2. Acts 2:9 That is, the Roman province by that name
  3. Acts 2:21 Joel 2:28-32
  4. Acts 2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles)
  5. Acts 2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)
  6. Acts 2:35 Psalm 110:1