◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Acts 2:1-21 (Filled with the Spirit); or Genesis 11:1-9 (God destroys the tower of Babel); Psalm 104:24-34 35b (Send forth your spirit); Romans 8:14-17 (The Spirit makes us children of God); or Acts 2:1-21 (Filled with the Spirit); John 14:8-17 [25-27] (The Spirit of truth) (New English Translation)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Acts 2:1-21

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

2 Now^[a] when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly^[b] a sound^[c] like a violent wind blowing^[d] came from heaven^[e] and filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³And tongues spreading out like a fire^[f] appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. ⁴All^[g] of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages^[h] as the Spirit enabled them.^[i]

⁵Now there were devout Jews^[j] from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem.^[k] ⁶When this sound^[l] occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion,^[m] because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷Completely baffled, they said,^[n] “Aren’t^[o] all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that each one of us hears them^[p] in our own native language?^[q] ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia,^[r] ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene,^[s] and visitors from Rome, ¹¹both Jews and proselytes,^[t] Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!”^[u] ¹²All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others jeered at the speakers,^[v] saying, “They are drunk on new wine!”^[w]

Peter’s Address on the Day of Pentecost

¹⁴But Peter stood up^[x] with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea^[y] and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this^[z] and listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk,^[aa] for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.^[ab] ¹⁶But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:^[ac]

¹⁷‘And in the last days^[ad] it will be,’ God says,
‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people,^[ae]
and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
and your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸Even on my servants,^[af] both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.^[ag]
¹⁹And I will perform wonders in the sky^[ah] above
and miraculous signs^[ai] on the earth below,
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
²⁰The sun will be changed to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and glorious^[aj] day of the Lord comes.
²¹And then^[ak] everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’^[al]

Footnotes

Acts 2:1 tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.
Acts 2:2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated for stylistic reasons. It occurs as part of the formula καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto) which is often left untranslated in Luke-Acts because it is redundant in contemporary English. Here it is possible (and indeed necessary) to translate ἐγένετο as “came” so that the initial clause of the English translation contains a verb; nevertheless the translation of the conjunction καί is not necessary.
Acts 2:2 tn Or “a noise.”
Acts 2:2 tn While φέρω (pherō) generally refers to movement from one place to another with the possible implication of causing the movement of other objects, in Acts 2:2 φέρομαι (pheromai) should probably be understood in a more idiomatic sense of “blowing” since it is combined with the noun for wind (πνοή, pnoē).
Acts 2:2 tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.
Acts 2:3 tn Or “And divided tongues as of fire.” The precise meaning of διαμερίζομαι (diamerizomai) in Acts 2:3 is difficult to determine. The meaning could be “tongues as of fire dividing up one to each person,” but it is also possible that the individual tongues of fire were divided (“And divided tongues as of fire appeared”). The translation adopted in the text (“tongues spreading out like a fire”) attempts to be somewhat ambiguous.
Acts 2:4 tn Grk “And all.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
Acts 2:4 tn The Greek term is γλώσσαις (glōssais), the same word used for the tongues of fire.sn Other languages. Acts 2:6-7 indicates that these were languages understandable to the hearers, a diverse group from “every nation under heaven.”
Acts 2:4 tn Grk “just as the spirit gave them to utter.” The verb ἀποφθέγγομαι (apophthengomai) was used of special utterances in Classical Greek (BDAG 125 s.v.).
Acts 2:5 tn Grk “Jews, devout men.” It is possible that only men are in view here in light of OT commands for Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at various times during the year (cf. Exod 23:17; 34:23; Deut 16:16). However, other evidence seems to indicate that both men and women might be in view. Luke 2:41-52 shows that whole families would make the temporary trip to Jerusalem. In addition, it is probable that the audience consisted of families who had taken up permanent residence in Jerusalem. The verb κατοικέω (katoikeō) normally means “reside” or “dwell,” and archaeological evidence from tombs in Jerusalem does indicate that many families immigrated to Jerusalem permanently (see B. Witherington, Acts, 135); this would naturally include women. Also, the word ἀνήρ (anēr), which usually does mean “male” or “man” (as opposed to woman), sometimes is used generically to mean “a person” (BDAG 79 s.v. 2; cf. Matt 12:41). Given this evidence, then, it is conceivable that the audience in view here is not individual male pilgrims but a mixed group of men and women.
Acts 2:5 tn Grk “Now there were residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”
Acts 2:6 tn Or “this noise.”
Acts 2:6 tn Or “was bewildered.”
Acts 2:7 tn Grk “They were astounded and amazed, saying.” The two imperfect verbs, ἐξίσταντο (existanto) and ἐθαύμαζον (ethaumazon), show both the surprise and the confusion on the part of the hearers. The verb ἐξίσταντο (from ἐξίστημι, existēmi) often implies an illogical perception or response (BDAG 350 s.v. ἐξίστημι): “to be so astonished as to almost fail to comprehend what one has experienced” (L&N 25.218).
Acts 2:7 tn Grk “Behold, aren’t all these.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
Acts 2:8 tn Grk “we hear them, each one of us.”
Acts 2:8 tn Grk “in our own language in which we were born.”
Acts 2:9 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia. The Roman province of Asia made up about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
Acts 2:10 tn According to BDAG 595 s.v. Λιβύη, the western part of Libya, Libya Cyrenaica, is referred to here (see also Josephus, Ant. 16.6.1 [16.160] for a similar phrase).
Acts 2:11 sn Proselytes refers to Gentile (i.e., non-Jewish) converts to Judaism.
Acts 2:11 tn Or “God’s mighty works.” Here the genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou theou) has been translated as a subjective genitive.
Acts 2:13 tn The words “the speakers” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
Acts 2:13 tn Grk “They are full of new wine!” sn New wine refers to a new, sweet wine in the process of fermentation.
Acts 2:14 tn Grk “standing up.” The participle σταθείς (statheis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 2:14 tn Or “You Jewish men.” “Judea” is preferred here because it is paired with “Jerusalem,” a location. This suggests locality rather than ethnic background is the primary emphasis in the context. As for “men,” the Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, where “all” who live in Jerusalem are addressed, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
Acts 2:14 tn Grk “let this be known to you.”
Acts 2:15 tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”
Acts 2:15 tn Grk “only the third hour.”
Acts 2:16 sn Note how in the quotation that follows all genders, ages, and classes are included. The event is like a hope Moses expressed in Num 11:29.
Acts 2:17 sn The phrase in the last days is not quoted from Joel, but represents Peter’s interpretive explanation of the current events as falling “in the last days.”
Acts 2:17 tn Grk “on all flesh.”
Acts 2:18 tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is conspicuous here; hence the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
Acts 2:18 sn The words and they will prophesy in Acts 2:18 are not quoted from Joel 2:29 at this point but are repeated from earlier in the quotation (Acts 2:17) for emphasis. Tongues speaking is described as prophecy, just like intelligible tongues are described in 1 Cor 14:26-33.
Acts 2:19 tn Or “in the heaven.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context. Here, in contrast to “the earth below,” a reference to the sky is more likely.
Acts 2:19 tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned; this is made explicit in the translation.
Acts 2:20 tn Or “and wonderful.”
Acts 2:21 tn Grk “And it will be that.”
Acts 2:21 sn A quotation from Joel 2:28-32.

Genesis 11:1-9

The Dispersion of the Nations at Babel

11 The whole earth^[a] had a common language and a common vocabulary.^[b] ²When the people^[c] moved eastward,^[d] they found a plain in Shinar^[e] and settled there. ³Then they said to one another,^[f] “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”^[g] (They had brick instead of stone and tar^[h] instead of mortar.)^[i] ⁴Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens^[j] so that^[k] we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise^[l] we will be scattered^[m] across the face of the entire earth.”

⁵But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people^[n] had started^[o] building. ⁶And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language^[p] they have begun to do this, then^[q] nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.^[r] ⁷Come, let’s go down and confuse^[s] their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.”^[t]

⁸So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building^[u] the city. ⁹That is why its name was called^[v] Babel^[w]—because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth.

Footnotes

Genesis 11:1 sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1-9, ” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.
Genesis 11:1 tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.
Genesis 11:2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Genesis 11:2 tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”
Genesis 11:2 tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.”sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.
Genesis 11:3 tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”
Genesis 11:3 tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilb^enah l^evenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisr^efah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).
Genesis 11:3 tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).
Genesis 11:3 tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
Genesis 11:4 tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.
Genesis 11:4 tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (v^enaʿaseh, from the verb עָשָׁה [ʿasah], “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.
Genesis 11:4 tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”
Genesis 11:4 sn The Hebrew verb פּוּץ (puts, “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.
Genesis 11:5 tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.
Genesis 11:5 tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.
Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”
Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”
Genesis 11:6 tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”
Genesis 11:7 tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22-23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the Lord our God said to us…. And the Lord went down and we went down with him. And we saw the city and the tower which the sons of men built.” On the chiastic structure of the story, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:235.
Genesis 11:7 tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”
Genesis 11:8 tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.
Genesis 11:9 tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.
Genesis 11:9 sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

Psalm 104:24-34

²⁴How many living things you have made, O Lord!^[a]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;^[b]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
²⁵Over here is the deep, wide sea,^[c]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,^[d]
living things both small and large.
²⁶The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale^[e] you made to play in it.
²⁷All your creatures^[f] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.^[g]
²⁸You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food.^[h]
²⁹When you ignore them, they panic.^[i]
When you take away their life’s breath,
they die and return to dust.
³⁰When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
³¹May the splendor of the Lord endure.^[j]
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made.^[k]
³²He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
³³I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.^[l]
³⁴May my thoughts^[m] be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.

Psalm 104:35

³⁵May sinners disappear^[a] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.

Romans 8:14-17

¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are^[a] the sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear,^[b] but you received the Spirit of adoption,^[c] by whom^[d] we cry, “Abba,^[e] Father.” ¹⁶The Spirit himself bears witness to^[f] our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)^[g]—if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.

Footnotes

Romans 8:14 tn Grk “For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are.”
Romans 8:15 tn Grk “slavery again to fear.”
Romans 8:15 tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (huiothesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e. in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).”
Romans 8:15 tn Or “in that.”
Romans 8:15 tn The term “Abba” is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic אַבָּא (’abba’), literally meaning “my father” but taken over simply as “father,” used in prayer and in the family circle, and later taken over by the early Greek-speaking Christians (BDAG 1 s.v. ἀββα).sn This Aramaic word is found three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6), and in each case is followed by its Greek equivalent, which is translated “father.” It is a term expressing warm affection and filial confidence. It has no perfect equivalent in English. It has passed into European languages as an ecclesiastical term, “abbot.” Over the past fifty years a lot has been written about this term and Jesus’ use of it. Joachim Jeremias argued that Jesus routinely addressed God using this Aramaic word, and he also noted this was a “child’s word,” leading many to conclude its modern equivalent was “Daddy.” This conclusion Jeremias soon modified (the term on occasion is used of an adult son addressing his father) but the simplistic equation of abba with “Daddy” is still heard in some circles today. Nevertheless, the term does express a high degree of closeness with reverence, and in addition to the family circle could be used by disciples of a much loved and revered teacher.
Romans 8:16 tn Or possibly “with.” ExSyn 160-61, however, notes the following: “At issue, grammatically, is whether the Spirit testifies alongside of our spirit (dat. of association), or whether he testifies to our spirit (indirect object) that we are God’s children. If the former, the one receiving this testimony is unstated (is it God? or believers?). If the latter, the believer receives the testimony and hence is assured of salvation via the inner witness of the Spirit. The first view has the advantage of a σύν- (sun-) prefixed verb, which might be expected to take an accompanying dat. of association (and is supported by NEB, JB, etc.). But there are three reasons why πνεύματι (pneumati) should not be taken as association: (1) Grammatically, a dat. with a σύν- prefixed verb does not necessarily indicate association. This, of course, does not preclude such here, but this fact at least opens up the alternatives in this text. (2) Lexically, though συμμαρτυρέω (summartureō) originally bore an associative idea, it developed in the direction of merely intensifying μαρτυρέω (martureō). This is surely the case in the only other NT text with a dat. (Rom 9:1). (3) Contextually, a dat. of association does not seem to support Paul’s argument: ‘What standing has our spirit in this matter? Of itself it surely has no right at all to testify to our being sons of God’ [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:403]. In sum, Rom 8:16 seems to be secure as a text in which the believer’s assurance of salvation is based on the inner witness of the Spirit. The implications of this for one’s soteriology are profound: The objective data, as helpful as they are, cannot by themselves provide assurance of salvation; the believer also needs (and receives) an existential, ongoing encounter with God’s Spirit in order to gain that familial comfort.”
Romans 8:17 tn Grk “on the one hand, heirs of God; on the other hand, fellow heirs with Christ.” Some prefer to render v. 17 as follows: “And if children, then heirs—that is, heirs of God. Also fellow heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.” Such a translation suggests two distinct inheritances, one coming to all of God’s children, the other coming only to those who suffer with Christ. The difficulty of this view, however, is that it ignores the correlative conjunctions μέν…δέ (men…de, “on the one hand…on the other hand”): The construction strongly suggests that the inheritances cannot be separated since both explain “then heirs.” For this reason, the preferred translation puts this explanation in parentheses.

Acts 2:1-21

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

Peter’s Address on the Day of Pentecost

Footnotes

Acts 2:1 tn Grk “And” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style does not.
Acts 2:2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated for stylistic reasons. It occurs as part of the formula καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto) which is often left untranslated in Luke-Acts because it is redundant in contemporary English. Here it is possible (and indeed necessary) to translate ἐγένετο as “came” so that the initial clause of the English translation contains a verb; nevertheless the translation of the conjunction καί is not necessary.
Acts 2:2 tn Or “a noise.”
Acts 2:2 tn While φέρω (pherō) generally refers to movement from one place to another with the possible implication of causing the movement of other objects, in Acts 2:2 φέρομαι (pheromai) should probably be understood in a more idiomatic sense of “blowing” since it is combined with the noun for wind (πνοή, pnoē).
Acts 2:2 tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.
Acts 2:3 tn Or “And divided tongues as of fire.” The precise meaning of διαμερίζομαι (diamerizomai) in Acts 2:3 is difficult to determine. The meaning could be “tongues as of fire dividing up one to each person,” but it is also possible that the individual tongues of fire were divided (“And divided tongues as of fire appeared”). The translation adopted in the text (“tongues spreading out like a fire”) attempts to be somewhat ambiguous.
Acts 2:4 tn Grk “And all.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
Acts 2:4 tn The Greek term is γλώσσαις (glōssais), the same word used for the tongues of fire.sn Other languages. Acts 2:6-7 indicates that these were languages understandable to the hearers, a diverse group from “every nation under heaven.”
Acts 2:4 tn Grk “just as the spirit gave them to utter.” The verb ἀποφθέγγομαι (apophthengomai) was used of special utterances in Classical Greek (BDAG 125 s.v.).
Acts 2:5 tn Grk “Jews, devout men.” It is possible that only men are in view here in light of OT commands for Jewish men to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at various times during the year (cf. Exod 23:17; 34:23; Deut 16:16). However, other evidence seems to indicate that both men and women might be in view. Luke 2:41-52 shows that whole families would make the temporary trip to Jerusalem. In addition, it is probable that the audience consisted of families who had taken up permanent residence in Jerusalem. The verb κατοικέω (katoikeō) normally means “reside” or “dwell,” and archaeological evidence from tombs in Jerusalem does indicate that many families immigrated to Jerusalem permanently (see B. Witherington, Acts, 135); this would naturally include women. Also, the word ἀνήρ (anēr), which usually does mean “male” or “man” (as opposed to woman), sometimes is used generically to mean “a person” (BDAG 79 s.v. 2; cf. Matt 12:41). Given this evidence, then, it is conceivable that the audience in view here is not individual male pilgrims but a mixed group of men and women.
Acts 2:5 tn Grk “Now there were residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”
Acts 2:6 tn Or “this noise.”
Acts 2:6 tn Or “was bewildered.”
Acts 2:7 tn Grk “They were astounded and amazed, saying.” The two imperfect verbs, ἐξίσταντο (existanto) and ἐθαύμαζον (ethaumazon), show both the surprise and the confusion on the part of the hearers. The verb ἐξίσταντο (from ἐξίστημι, existēmi) often implies an illogical perception or response (BDAG 350 s.v. ἐξίστημι): “to be so astonished as to almost fail to comprehend what one has experienced” (L&N 25.218).
Acts 2:7 tn Grk “Behold, aren’t all these.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
Acts 2:8 tn Grk “we hear them, each one of us.”
Acts 2:8 tn Grk “in our own language in which we were born.”
Acts 2:9 tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia. The Roman province of Asia made up about one-third of modern Asia Minor and was on the western side of it. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.
Acts 2:10 tn According to BDAG 595 s.v. Λιβύη, the western part of Libya, Libya Cyrenaica, is referred to here (see also Josephus, Ant. 16.6.1 [16.160] for a similar phrase).
Acts 2:11 sn Proselytes refers to Gentile (i.e., non-Jewish) converts to Judaism.
Acts 2:11 tn Or “God’s mighty works.” Here the genitive τοῦ θεοῦ (tou theou) has been translated as a subjective genitive.
Acts 2:13 tn The words “the speakers” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
Acts 2:13 tn Grk “They are full of new wine!” sn New wine refers to a new, sweet wine in the process of fermentation.
Acts 2:14 tn Grk “standing up.” The participle σταθείς (statheis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
Acts 2:14 tn Or “You Jewish men.” “Judea” is preferred here because it is paired with “Jerusalem,” a location. This suggests locality rather than ethnic background is the primary emphasis in the context. As for “men,” the Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, where “all” who live in Jerusalem are addressed, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
Acts 2:14 tn Grk “let this be known to you.”
Acts 2:15 tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”
Acts 2:15 tn Grk “only the third hour.”
Acts 2:16 sn Note how in the quotation that follows all genders, ages, and classes are included. The event is like a hope Moses expressed in Num 11:29.
Acts 2:17 sn The phrase in the last days is not quoted from Joel, but represents Peter’s interpretive explanation of the current events as falling “in the last days.”
Acts 2:17 tn Grk “on all flesh.”
Acts 2:18 tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is conspicuous here; hence the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). One good translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
Acts 2:18 sn The words and they will prophesy in Acts 2:18 are not quoted from Joel 2:29 at this point but are repeated from earlier in the quotation (Acts 2:17) for emphasis. Tongues speaking is described as prophecy, just like intelligible tongues are described in 1 Cor 14:26-33.
Acts 2:19 tn Or “in the heaven.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context. Here, in contrast to “the earth below,” a reference to the sky is more likely.
Acts 2:19 tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned; this is made explicit in the translation.
Acts 2:20 tn Or “and wonderful.”
Acts 2:21 tn Grk “And it will be that.”
Acts 2:21 sn A quotation from Joel 2:28-32.

John 14:8-17

⁸Philip said,^[a] “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content.”^[b] ⁹Jesus replied,^[c] “Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known^[d] me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?^[e] The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative,^[f] but the Father residing in me performs^[g] his miraculous deeds.^[h] ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me,^[i] believe because of the miraculous deeds^[j] themselves. ¹²I tell you the solemn truth,^[k] the person who believes in me will perform^[l] the miraculous deeds^[m] that I am doing,^[n] and will perform^[o] greater deeds^[p] than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name,^[q] so that the Father may be glorified^[r] in the Son. ¹⁴If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

¹⁵“If you love me, you will obey^[s] my commandments.^[t] ¹⁶Then^[u] I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate^[v] to be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,^[w] because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides^[x] with you and will be^[y] in you.

Footnotes

John 14:8 tn Grk “said to him.”
John 14:8 tn Or “and that is enough for us.”
John 14:9 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
John 14:9 tn Or “recognized.”
John 14:10 tn The mutual interrelationship of the Father and the Son (ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν, egō en tō patri kai ho patēr en emoi estin) is something that Jesus expected even his opponents to recognize (cf. John 10:38). The question Jesus asks of Philip (οὐ πιστεύεις, ou pisteueis) expects the answer “yes.” Note that the following statement is addressed to all the disciples, however, because the plural pronoun (ὑμῖν, humin) is used. Jesus says that his teaching (the words he spoke to them all) did not originate from himself, but the Father, who permanently remains (μένων, menōn) in relationship with Jesus, performs his works. One would have expected “speaks his words” here rather than “performs his works”; many of the church fathers (e.g., Augustine and Chrysostom) identified the two by saying that Jesus’ words were works. But there is an implicit contrast in the next verse between words and works, and v. 12 seems to demand that the works are real works, not just words. It is probably best to see the two terms as related but not identical; there is a progression in the idea here. Both Jesus’ words (recall the Samaritans’ response in John 4:42) and Jesus’ works are revelatory of who he is, but as the next verse indicates, works have greater confirmatory power than words.
John 14:10 tn Grk “I do not speak from myself.”
John 14:10 tn Or “does.”
John 14:10 tn Or “his mighty acts”; Grk “his works.”sn Miraculous deeds is most likely a reference to the miraculous signs Jesus had performed, which he viewed as a manifestation of the mighty acts of God. Those he performed in the presence of the disciples served as a basis for faith (although a secondary basis to their personal relationship to him; see the following verse).
John 14:11 tn The phrase “but if you do not believe me” contains an ellipsis; the Greek text reads Grk “but if not.” The ellipsis has been filled out (“but if [you do] not [believe me]…”) for the benefit of the modern English reader.
John 14:11 tn Grk “because of the works.”sn In the context of a proof or basis for belief, Jesus is referring to the miraculous deeds (signs) he has performed in the presence of the disciples.
John 14:12 tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”
John 14:12 tn Or “will do.”
John 14:12 tn Grk “the works.”
John 14:12 tn Or “that I do.”sn See the note on miraculous deeds in v. 11.
John 14:12 tn Or “will do.”
John 14:12 tn Grk “greater works.”sn What are the greater deeds that Jesus speaks of, and how is this related to his going to the Father? It is clear from both John 7:39 and 16:7 that the Holy Spirit will not come until Jesus has departed. After Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit to indwell believers in a permanent relationship, believers would be empowered to perform even greater deeds than those Jesus did during his earthly ministry. When the early chapters of Acts are examined, it is clear that, from a numerical standpoint, the deeds of Peter and the other Apostles surpassed those of Jesus in a single day (the day of Pentecost). On that day more were added to the church than had become followers of Jesus during the entire three years of his earthly ministry. And the message went forth not just in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, but to the farthest parts of the known world. This understanding of what Jesus meant by “greater deeds” is more probable than a reference to “more spectacular miracles.” Certainly miraculous deeds were performed by the apostles as recounted in Acts, but these do not appear to have surpassed the works of Jesus himself in either degree or number.
John 14:13 tn Grk “And whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:13 tn Or “may be praised” or “may be honored.”
John 14:15 tn Or “will keep.”
John 14:15 sn Jesus’ statement If you love me, you will obey my commandments provides the transition between the promises of answered prayer which Jesus makes to his disciples in vv. 13-14 and the promise of the Holy Spirit which is introduced in v. 16. Obedience is the proof of genuine love.
John 14:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to reflect the implied sequence in the discourse.
John 14:16 tn Or “Helper” or “Counselor”; Grk “Paraclete,” from the Greek word παράκλητος (paraklētos). Finding an appropriate English translation for παράκλητος is a very difficult task. No single English word has exactly the same range of meaning as the Greek word. “Comforter,” used by some of the older English versions, appears to be as old as Wycliffe. But today it suggests a quilt or a sympathetic mourner at a funeral. “Counselor” is adequate, but too broad, in contexts like “marriage counselor” or “camp counselor.” “Helper” or “Assistant” could also be used, but could suggest a subordinate rank. “Advocate,” the word chosen for this translation, has more forensic overtones than the Greek word does, although in John 16:5-11 a forensic context is certainly present. Because an “advocate” is someone who “advocates” or supports a position or viewpoint and since this is what the Paraclete will do for the preaching of the disciples, it was selected in spite of the drawbacks.
John 14:17 tn Or “cannot receive.”
John 14:17 tn Or “he remains.”
John 14:17 tc Some early and significant witnesses (P^66* B D* W 1 565 it) have ἐστιν (estin, “he is”) instead of ἔσται (estai, “he will be”) here, while other weighty witnesses (P^66c,75vid א A D¹ L Θ Ψ ƒ¹³ 33^vid M as well as several versions and fathers), read the future tense. When one considers transcriptional evidence, ἐστιν is the more difficult reading and better explains the rise of the future tense reading, but it must be noted that both P⁶⁶ and D were corrected from the present tense to the future. If ἐστιν were the original reading, one would expect a few manuscripts to be corrected to read the present when they originally read the future, but that is not the case. When one considers what the author would have written, the future is on much stronger ground. The immediate context (both in 14:16 and in the chapter as a whole) points to the future, and the theology of the book regards the advent of the Spirit as a decidedly future event (see, e.g., 7:39 and 16:7). The present tense could have arisen from an error of sight on the part of some scribes or more likely from an error of thought as scribes reflected upon the present role of the Spirit. Although a decision is difficult, the future tense is most likely authentic. For further discussion on this textual problem, see James M. Hamilton, Jr., “He Is with You and He Will Be in You” (Ph.D. diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2003), 213-20.

John 14:25-27

²⁵“I have spoken these things while staying^[a] with you. ²⁶But the Advocate,^[b] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you^[c] everything,^[d] and will cause you to remember everything^[e] I said to you.

²⁷“Peace I leave with you;^[f] my peace I give to you; I do not give it^[g] to you as the world does.^[h] Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.^[i]

New English Translation (NET)

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

Peter’s Address on the Day of Pentecost

Footnotes

The Dispersion of the Nations at Babel

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

Peter’s Address on the Day of Pentecost

Footnotes

Teaching on the Holy Spirit

Footnotes

Footnotes