Acts 2:1–17

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2The day of Pentecost came. The believers all gathered in one place. ²Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw something that looked like tongues of fire. The flames separated and settled on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this.

⁵Godly Jews from every country in the world were staying in Jerusalem. ⁶A crowd came together when they heard the sound. They were bewildered because they each heard the believers speaking in their own language. ⁷The crowd was really amazed. They asked, “Aren’t all these people from Galilee? ⁸Why, then, do we each hear them speaking in our own native language? ⁹We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites. We live in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia. We are from Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia. Others of us are from Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. Still others are visitors from Rome. ¹¹Some of the visitors are Jews. Others have accepted the Jewish faith. Also, Cretans and Arabs are here. We hear all these people speaking about God’s wonders in our own languages!” ¹²They were amazed and bewildered. They asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³But some people in the crowd made fun of the believers. “They’ve had too much wine!” they said.

Peter Speaks to the Crowd

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven. In a loud voice he spoke to the crowd. “My Jewish friends,” he said, “let me explain this to you. All of you who live in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵You think these people are drunk. But they aren’t. It’s only nine o’clock in the morning! ¹⁶No, here is what the prophet Joel meant. ¹⁷He said,

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions.

Your old men will have dreams.