Acts 2:1-13

Expanded Bible

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost [^Ca harvest festival fifty days after Passover, celebrating the firstfruits of the crops (while on this day the firstfruits of the Spirit); Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16:10, 16] ·came [arrived], they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a ·noise [roar] like a ·strong [violent], ·blowing [rushing] wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw something like ·flames [^Ltongues] of fire ·that were separated [that were divided; or that spread out] and ·stood [came to rest] over each person there. ⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak ·different [other; or foreign] ·languages [^Ltongues] by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them [^Creversing the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel; Gen. 11:1–9].

⁵ There were some ·religious [devout; God-fearing] Jews ·staying [living] in Jerusalem who were from every ·country [nation] ·in the world [^Lunder heaven]. ⁶ When they heard this noise, a crowd came together. They were all ·surprised [or confused; bewildered], because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ They were ·completely [^Lastounded and] amazed at this. They said, “Look! Aren’t all these people that we hear speaking ·from Galilee [^LGalileans]? ⁸ Then how is it possible that we each hear them in our own [native] languages? We are: ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia [^Ca Roman province, in present-day Turkey], ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the areas of Libya near Cyrene, [visitors from] Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and ·those who had become Jews [proselytes]), Crete, and Arabia. But we hear them telling in our own ·languages [tongues] about the ·great things [mighty acts] God has done!” ¹² They were all amazed and confused, asking each other, “What does this mean?”

¹³ But others ·were making fun of them [sneered], saying, “They have had too much [sweet; new] wine [^Cthey accuse them of being intoxicated and speaking nonsense].”