Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, (A)since it is only the third hour of the day.[a] 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 (B)“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
(C)that I will pour out my Spirit (D)on all flesh,
and your sons and (E)your daughters shall prophesy,
    and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and (F)they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 (G)the sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
    before (H)the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that (I)everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, (J)a man attested to you by God (K)with (L)mighty works and wonders and signs that (M)God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,[b] (N)delivered up according to (O)the definite plan and (P)foreknowledge of God, (Q)you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 (R)God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because (S)it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,

(T)“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
    for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
    my flesh also will dwell (U)in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to (V)Hades,
    (W)or let your (X)Holy One (Y)see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about (Z)the patriarch David (AA)that he both died and (AB)was buried, and (AC)his tomb is with us to this day. 30 (AD)Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that (AE)God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that (AF)he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus (AG)God raised up, (AH)and of that we all are witnesses. 33 (AI)Being therefore (AJ)exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from (AK)the Father (AL)the promise of the Holy Spirit, (AM)he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For (AN)David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

(AO)“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35     until I make your enemies your footstool.”’

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that (AP)God has made him (AQ)both Lord and Christ, this Jesus (AR)whom you crucified.”

37 Now when (AS)they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, (AT)what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, (AU)“Repent and (AV)be baptized every one of you (AW)in the name of Jesus Christ (AX)for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive (AY)the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For (AZ)the promise is for you and (BA)for your children and for all (BB)who are far off, everyone (BC)whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, (BD)“Save yourselves from this (BE)crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and (BF)there were added that day about three thousand souls.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 2:15 That is, 9 a.m.
  2. Acts 2:23 Greek this one

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!(A) 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.(B)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,(C)
    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.(D)
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,(E)
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood(F)
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord(G) will be saved.’[a](H)

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth(I) was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,(J) which God did among you through him,(K) as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge;(L) and you, with the help of wicked men,[b] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.(M) 24 But God raised him from the dead,(N) freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.(O) 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.(P)
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[c](Q)

29 “Fellow Israelites,(R) I can tell you confidently that the patriarch(S) David died and was buried,(T) and his tomb is here(U) 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.(V) 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.(W) 32 God has raised this Jesus to life,(X) and we are all witnesses(Y) of it. 33 Exalted(Z) to the right hand of God,(AA) he has received from the Father(AB) the promised Holy Spirit(AC) and has poured out(AD) 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.”’[d](AE)

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

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?”(AH)

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized,(AI) every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.(AJ) And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.(AK) 39 The promise is for you and your children(AL) and for all who are far off(AM)—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.”(AN) 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number(AO) that day.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 2:21 Joel 2:28-32
  2. Acts 2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles)
  3. Acts 2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)
  4. Acts 2:35 Psalm 110:1

And Stephen said:

(A)“Brothers and fathers, hear me. (B)The God (C)of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, (D)before he lived in Haran, and said to him, (E)‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ (F)Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And (G)after his father died, (H)God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised (I)to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, (J)though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect—that (K)his offspring would (L)be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them (M)four hundred years. ‘But (N)I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out (O)and worship me in this place.’ And (P)he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And (Q)so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and (R)circumcised him on the eighth day, and (S)Isaac became the father of Jacob, and (T)Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

“And the patriarchs, (U)jealous of Joseph, (V)sold him into Egypt; but (W)God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and (X)gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, (Y)who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now (Z)there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 (AA)But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And (AB)on the second visit (AC)Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and (AD)Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And (AE)Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, (AF)seventy-five persons in all.

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To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers,(A) listen to me! The God of glory(B) appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.(C) ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’[a](D)

“So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.(E) He gave him no inheritance here,(F) not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land,(G) even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.(H) But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’[b](I) Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision.(J) And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth.(K) Later Isaac became the father of Jacob,(L) and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.(M)

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph,(N) they sold him as a slave into Egypt.(O) But God was with him(P) 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.(Q)

11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.(R) 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.(S) 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was,(T) and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family.(U) 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family,(V) seventy-five in all.(W)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:3 Gen. 12:1
  2. Acts 7:7 Gen. 15:13,14