Acts 2–5

PENTECOST

2When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place.^{a 2}Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind^b came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.^{c 3}They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. ⁴Then they were all filled^d with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.^e

⁵Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation^f under heaven. ⁶When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were astounded and amazed, saying,^E “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?^{g 8}How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^{h 10}Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts),^{i 11}Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” ¹²They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”^j

PETER’S SERMON

¹⁴Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. ¹⁵For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning.^{F 16}On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷And it will be in the last days, says God,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all people;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.^k

¹⁸I will even pour out my Spirit

on my servants in those days, both men and women

and they will prophesy.^l

¹⁹I will display wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below:

blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood^m

before the great and glorious day of the Lordⁿ comes.

²¹Then everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.^Ao

²²“Fellow Israelites, listen to these words: This Jesus of Nazareth was a man attested to you by God with miracles, wonders, and signs that God did among you through him, just as you yourselves know.^{p 23}Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used^B lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.^{q 24}God raised him up, ending the pains of death,^r because it was not possible for him to be held by death. ²⁵For David says of him:

I saw the Lord ever before me;

because he is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

²⁶Therefore my heart is glad

and my tongue rejoices.

Moreover, my flesh will rest in hope,

²⁷because you will not abandon me in Hades

or allow your holy one to see decay.^s

²⁸You have revealed the paths of life to me;

you will fill me with gladness

in your presence.^Ct

²⁹“Brothers and sisters, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: He is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.^{u 30}Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants^D on his throne.^{v 31}Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah: He^E was not abandoned in Hades, and his flesh did not experience decay.^Fw

³²“God has raised^x this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. ³³Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God^y and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit,^a he has poured out^b what you both see and hear. ³⁴For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says:

The Lord declared to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand

³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.’^Ac

³⁶“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”^d

CALL TO REPENTANCE

³⁷When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”^e

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent^f and be baptized,^g each of you, in the name^h of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off,ⁱ as many as the Lord our God will call.” ⁴⁰With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt^B generation!”^j

A GENEROUS AND GROWING CHURCH

⁴¹So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching,^k to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.^l

⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.^{m 44}Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.^{n 45}They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,^{o 47}praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number^C those who were being saved.^p

HEALING OF A LAME MAN

3Now Peter and John were going up to the temple for the time of prayer^q at three in the afternoon.^{D 2}A man who was lame from birth was being carried there. He was placed each day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so that he could beg from those entering the temple.^{r 3}When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked for money. ⁴Peter, along with John, looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” ⁵So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. ⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”^{s 7}Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. ⁸So he jumped up and started to walk, and he entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.^{t 9}All the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him.^u

PREACHING IN SOLOMON’S COLONNADE

¹¹While he^A was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astonished, ran toward them in what is called Solomon’s Colonnade.^{v 12}When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? ¹³The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors,^w has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate,^x though he had decided to release him. ¹⁴You denied the Holy and Righteous One^y and asked to have a murderer released to you.^{z 15}You killed the source^B of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this.^{aa 16}By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.

¹⁷“And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did.^{ab 18}In this way God fulfilled what he had predicted through all the prophets—that his Messiah would suffer.^{ac 19}Therefore repent^ad and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,^{ae 20}that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed^af for you as the Messiah. ²¹Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning.^{a 22}Moses said:^C The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. ²³And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from the people.^Db

²⁴“In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also foretold these days. ²⁵You are the sons^E of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.^{Fc 26}God raised up his servant^G and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”^d

PETER AND JOHN ARRESTED

4While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them,^{e 2}because they were annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.^{f 3}So they seized them and took them into custody until the next day since it was already evening. ⁴But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men^H came to about five thousand.

PETER AND JOHN FACE THE JEWISH LEADERSHIP

⁵The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem ⁶with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family.^{g 7}After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: “By what power or in what name have you done this?”

⁸Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders:^{Ah 9}If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was healed, ¹⁰let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing here before you healthy.^{i 11}This Jesus is

the stone rejected by you builders,

which has become the…