Chapter 2

¹On the day of the Harvest Festival, they were all meeting together, ²when suddenly there came from the sky a sound like a violent blast of wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³And they saw tongues like flames separating and settling one on the head of each of them, ⁴and they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to say in foreign languages whatever the Spirit prompted them to utter.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every part of the world living in Jerusalem. ⁶And when this sound was heard, the crowd gathered in great excitement, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were perfectly amazed and said in their astonishment,

“Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears his own native tongue? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, of Judea and Cappadocia, of Pontus, and Asia, ¹⁰of Phrygia, and Pamphylia, of Egypt and the district of Africa about Cyrene, visitors from Rome, Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we all hear them tell in our native tongues the mighty deeds of God.”

¹²And they were all amazed and bewildered and said to one another,

“What can this mean?”

¹³But others said derisively,

“They have had too much new wine!”

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the eleven around him, and raising his voice addressed them.

“Men of Judea,” he said, “and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you, and pay attention to what I say. ¹⁵These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only nine in the morning. ¹⁶But this is what was predicted by the prophet Joel,

¹⁷“ ‘It will come about in the last days, God says,

That I will pour out my Spirit upon all mankind;

Your sons and daughters will become prophets,

Your young men will have visions,

And your old men will have dreams.

¹⁸Even on my slaves, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

And they will become prophets.

¹⁹I will show wonders in the sky above,

And signs on the earth below,

Blood and fire and thick smoke.

²⁰The sun will turn to darkness,

And the moon to blood,

Before the coming of the great, splendid Day of the Lord.

²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

²²“Men of Israel, listen to what I say. Jesus of Nazareth, as you know, was a man whom God commended to you by the wonders, portents, and signs that God did right among you through him. ²³But you, by the fixed purpose and intention of God, handed him over to wicked men, and had him crucified. ²⁴But God set aside the pain of death and raised him up, for death could not control him. ²⁵For David says of him,

‘I constantly regarded the Lord before me,

For he is at my right hand, so that I may not be displaced.

²⁶Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices,

And my body will still live in hope.

²⁷For you will not desert my soul in death,

You will not let your Holy One be destroyed.

²⁸You have made the ways of life known to me,

And you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

²⁹“Brothers, one may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his grave is here among us to this very day. ³⁰But as he was a prophet, and knew that God had promised him with an oath that he would put one of his descendants upon his throne, ³¹he foresaw the resurrection of the Christ and told of it, for he was not deserted in death and his body was not destroyed. ³²He is Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and to whose resurrection we are all witnesses. ³³So he has been exalted to God’s right hand, and has received from his Father and poured over us the holy Spirit that had been promised, as you see and hear.

³⁴“For David did not go up to heaven, but he said,

‘The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand,

³⁵Until I make your enemies your footstool.’

³⁶“Therefore the whole nation of Israel must understand that God has declared this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷When they heard this, they were stung to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,

“Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸Peter said to them,

“You must repent, and every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to have your sins forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit, ³⁹for the promise of it belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those far away whom the Lord our God calls to him.”

⁴⁰He said much more besides in giving his testimony, and urged them to save themselves from that crooked age. ⁴¹So they welcomed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people joined them that day. ⁴²And they devoted themselves to the teaching and the society of the apostles, the breaking of bread, and prayer.

⁴³Everyone felt a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴The believers all shared everything they had with one another, ⁴⁵and sold their property and belongings, and divided the money with all the rest, according to their special needs. ⁴⁶Day after day they all went regularly to the Temple, they broke their bread together in their homes, and they ate their food with glad and simple hearts, ⁴⁷constantly praising God and respected by all the people. And every day the Lord added people who were saved to their number.