The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost was being celebrated,^[a] all of them were together in one place. ² Suddenly, a sound like the roar of a mighty windstorm came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw tongues like flames^[b] of fire that separated, and one rested on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign^[c] languages as the Spirit gave them that ability.

⁵ Now devout Jews from every nation on earth^[d] were living in Jerusalem. ⁶ When that sound came, a crowd quickly gathered, startled because each one heard the disciples^[e] speaking in his own language. ⁷ Stunned and amazed, they asked, “All of these people who are speaking are Galileans, aren’t they? ⁸ So how is it that each one of us hears them speaking in his own native language:^{[f] 9} Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the district of Libya near Cyrene, Jewish and proselyte visitors from Rome, ¹¹ Cretans, and Arabs, listening to them talk in our own languages about the great deeds of God?”

¹² All of them continued to be stunned and puzzled, and they kept asking one another, “What can this mean?”

¹³ But others kept saying in derision, “They’re drunk on sweet wine!”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up among the eleven apostles^[g] and raised his voice to address them:

“Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand something, so pay close attention to my words. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it’s only nine o’clock in the morning.^{[h] 16} Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

²² “Fellow Israelis, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth^[m] was a man authenticated to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him among you, as you yourselves know. ²³ After he was arrested according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified this very man and killed him using the hands of lawless men. ²⁴ But God raised him up, putting an end to the suffering of death,^[n] since it was impossible for him to be held by it, ²⁵ since David says about him,

²⁹ “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and that his tomb is among us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, since he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him with an oath to put one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹ he looked ahead and spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah:^[r]

³² “It was this very Jesus whom God raised—and we’re all witnesses of that. ³³ He has been exalted to the right hand of God, has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit,^[u] and has caused you to experience what you are seeing and hearing. ³⁴ After all, David did not go up to heaven, but he said,

³⁶ “Therefore, let all the people^[x] of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!”^[y]

³⁷ When the crowd that had gathered^[z] heard this, they were pierced to the heart. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸ Peter answered them, “Every one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah^[aa] for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.^{[ab] 39} For this promise belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those who are distant, whom the Lord our God may call to himself.”

⁴⁰ Using many different expressions, Peter^[ac] continued to testify and to plead: “Be saved,” he urged them, “from this corrupt generation!” ⁴¹ So those who welcomed his message were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added to their number.

Life among the Believers

⁴² The believers^[ad] continued to devote themselves to what the apostles were teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to times of prayer.^{[ae] 43} A sense of fear^[af] came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were united and shared everything with one another.^{[ag] 45} They made it their practice to sell their possessions and goods and to distribute the proceeds^[ah] to anyone who was in need. ⁴⁶ United in purpose, they went to the Temple every day, ate at each other’s homes, and shared their food with glad and humble hearts. ⁴⁷ They were praising God and enjoying the good will of all the people. Every day the Lord was adding to their number those who were being saved.