أعمال الرسل 2

Acts of the Apostles 2

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The Advent of the Holy Spirit

1 When the Day of Pentecost came,* all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from the sky like that of a windstorm, and it filled the whole house where they were. 3 There appeared to them tongues that seemed [made] of fire, which divided up and settled on each one of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began speaking in other languages, according to what the Spirit gave them to speak.

5 Now in Jerusalem at that time, there were godly Jews who had come from all nations of the world. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd of them gathered. They were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his [own] language. 7 They were astonished and amazed, and they said, “These people who are speaking are all from Galilee. 8 So how is it that each of us hears them speaking in the language of his country? 9 We're from Parthia, Media, and Elam.* And some of us are residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia,* Egypt, and the region of Libya near Cyrenaica* — in addition to visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism — and also from Crete and from the lands of the Arabs!* Yet we all hear them speaking about the great works of God in our own languages!” 12 They were all stunned and bewildered, and they were asking one another, “What's the meaning of this?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “They're drunk with wine!”

Peter's Speech

14 Then Peter* stood up with the eleven apostles and addressed the crowd in a loud voice, saying, “You Jewish men and all of you present in Jerusalem, pay attention and listen to me. 15 These people are not drunk as you suppose, for it's nine o'clock in the morning. 16 Rather, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about: 17 ‘God says,* “In the last days,* I will pour out my Spirit upon all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young people will see visions, and your elders will have dreams. 18 Indeed, in those days, I will pour out my Spirit on my servants, both men and women, and they will prophesy. 19 I will work wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below. There will be blood and fire and thick smoke. 20 The sun will darken, and the moon will change to the color of blood before the day of the Lord comes, that great and glorious day. 21 And everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved*.”’

22 “Children of Israel, listen to this! Jesus of Nazareth is a man to whom God bore witness with miracles, wonders, and signs, which he did through him. And you know this, because they took place among you. 23 He was handed over to you, according to God's prearranged plan and foreknowledge, and you crucified him and killed him with the aid of infidels.* 24 But God freed him from the pain of death and raised him up alive, for it was not possible for death to keep him captive. 25 For David says [this] about him:* ‘I see the Lord always before me. He is at my right [side], so I will not be troubled. 26 For this [reason] my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices; my body also rests in hope. 27 Because you [O God] will not leave my soul in the world of the dead and will not allow your Holy One to decay in the grave. 28 You have guided me to the way of life, and you fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 “Brothers, allow me to speak frankly with you. Our forefather David died and was buried, and his grave is with us to this day. 30 He was a prophet, and he knew God had sworn to him with an oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.* 31 He saw the future and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah in his statement that God would not leave him in the world of the dead and that his body would not decay in the grave. 32 This [refers to] Jesus; God raised him up alive, and we are all witnesses to this. 33 Then he was lifted up to the right of God, and as the Father* had promised, he gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out on us, just as you see and hear now. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, but he himself said, ‘God said to my Master, “Sit on my right, 35 until I have put your enemies under your feet.”’*

36 “So then, the Children of Israel should know with complete certainty that this Jesus, whom you yourselves crucified, [is the one] whom God has made the Messiah,* the Master of all.”

37 When the people heard this, they were deeply affected, and they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter answered them, “Repent,* and let each of you be immersed in the name of Jesus the Messiah, so that your sins* will be forgiven and you can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, and for your children, and for everyone far away. It is for all whom the Lord our God has called to himself.”

40 Peter continued teaching them, telling them many other things, and he warned them, saying, “Save yourselves from the evil of this corrupt generation!” 41 Those who accepted his message were immersed. On that day, about three thousand individuals joined the community of believers. 42 They continued in the study of what the apostles were teaching, and in gatherings for brotherly fellowship, for eating meals* together, and for prayer.

43 Many wonders and signs took place by the hands of the apostles, and everyone was filled with awe. 44 All the believers were united, and everything was shared among them. 45 They would sell their lands and possessions and distribute the proceeds among the others according to the need of each one. 46 They would meet together in the Temple complex* every day, and they would eat meals in the home of one [person] after another, sharing food together with joy and simplicity. 47 They were praising God and enjoying the approval of all the people. Every day the Messiah added to the community of believers the [people] whom he was blessing with salvation.*

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Definitions

 *2:1 When the Day of Pentecost came: Sunday, May 28th, AD 30. This was seven weeks after Jesus rose from death and ten days after he ascended to heaven.

 *2:9 Parthia, Media, and Elam: regions in the northeastern, northwestern, and southwestern parts of what is now the country of Iran.

 *2:9-10 Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia: regions in what is now the country of Turkey.

 *2:10 Cyrenaica: A Roman province in northeast Libya. The main city was Cyrene, near present-day Shahhat.

 *2:11 See the map of the Roman Empire.

 *2:14 Peter: Simon Peter, one of the apostles of Jesus the Messiah.

 *2:17-21 This is a prophecy from the Book of the Prophet Joel 2:28-32. The prophet Joel lived hundreds of years before this event.

 *2:17 the last days: a reference to the Messianic age, between the first coming of the Messiah and his second coming, after which the dead will rise and the Messiah will judge all people. At the time of the prophet Joel, the age of the Messiah was still far in the future, so it's called the last days. But now it is the present age, which will end with “the last day,” namely the day of resurrection and judgment. See Acts 10:42; 17:31

 *2:21 will be saved: will escape the wrath of God and be accepted into his eternal kingdom. See salvation in the glossary.

 *2:23 infidels: In this verse, the word is used in reference to the Roman governor and his soldiers, who crucified Jesus. They are described as infidels because they rejected faith in God and ignored his laws.

 *2:25-28 These verses are quoted from the Book of Psalms 16:8-11.

 *2:30 See the Book of Psalms 132:11. This is a reference to the Messiah, whom God would send (a thousand years later).

 *2:33 the Father: God, with regard to his compassionate care for his people. See the footnote at Acts 1:4.

 *2:34-35 This is quoted from the Psalms of David 110:1.

 *2:36 the Messiah: the person whom God promised to send to the world to save people from sin, guide them in the way of righteousness, and rule them forever both in this world and in the next. God foretold the coming of the Messiah in the Torah, in the Psalms of David, and in the Writings of the Prophets, but people had different expectations of what the Messiah's kingdom would be like. They agreed, though, that God planned a future world that would be a paradise. In the Hebrew and Aramaic languages the term Messiah meant “chosen by God to be king.” It comes from a word that means “to anoint” and reflects an ancient practice of installing someone as the king or high priest by anointing him with oil. The word Messiah was translated into Greek as Christos, meaning “anointed,” and from there it came into English as Christ. For more details, see Messiah in the glossary.

 *2:38 repent: to change one's beliefs and way of life by rejecting sinful behavior and committing oneself to the way of God.

 *2:38 sins: violations of God's commandments, whether in deed or thought or disposition. According to the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Leviticus 19:18) and the Gospel (Luke 10:27), the most important commandment is to love God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and ability, and the second is to love others as one loves oneself. Any shortcoming in these relationships is called a sin.

 *2:42 meals: literally bread, but meaning meals. In English, people do not normally use the word bread to mean a meal.

 *2:46 The Temple complex: a building complex in Jerusalem where people came to pray, to make offerings to God, and to receive instruction in religion, and where priests performed rituals in God's honor. The complex covered the Temple Mount, which in Arabic is called الحرم الشريف al-haram al-sharif. The central building was the Temple, also called the House of God. Believers in God prayed facing the Temple. No one was allowed to enter it except for the priests. See the illustration.

 *2:47 salvation: rescue from harm. The word salvation is used in the Gospel for what people receive when they repent and believe in Jesus the Messiah. It means that God rescues them from a sinful life, forgives their sins, empowers them with his Holy Spirit to live a holy life, accepts them into his Kingdom as one of his righteous people, and assures them that on the Day of Judgment, they will be safe from God's wrath and will live forever in his eternal Kingdom. See salvation in the glossary.