Acts of the Apostles 2

¹ When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room,

² when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting;

³ and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.

⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

⁵ Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven,

⁶ and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language.

⁷ They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans?

⁸ How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language?

⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome-

¹¹ Jews and proselytes[*a] alike-Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

¹² Everyone was amazed and unable to explain it; they asked one another what it all meant.

¹³ Some, however, laughed it off. ‘They have been drinking too much new wine’ they said.

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice: ‘Men of Judaea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, make no mistake about this, but listen carefully to what I say.

¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you imagine; why, it is only the third hour of the day.[*b]

¹⁶ ‘On the contrary, this is what the prophet[*c] spoke of:

¹⁷ In the days to come-it is the Lord who speaks-I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. Their sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.

¹⁸ Even on my slaves, men and women, in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

¹⁹ I will display portents in heaven above and signs on earth below.

²⁰ The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great Day of the Lord dawns.

²¹ All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

²² ‘Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know.

²³ This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law.[*d] You killed him,

²⁴ but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since,

²⁵ as David says of him: I saw the Lord before me always, for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.

²⁶ So my heart was glad and my tongue cried out with joy; my body, too, will rest in the hope

²⁷ that you will not abandon my soul to Hades nor allow your holy one to experience corruption.

²⁸ You have made known the way of life to me, you will fill me with gladness through your presence.[*e]

²⁹ ‘Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us.

³⁰ But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne,[*f]

³¹ ‘what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption.

³² God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that.

³³ Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.

³⁴ For David himself never went up to heaven; and yet these words are his: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand

³⁵ until I make your enemies a footstool for you.[*g]

³⁶ ‘For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.’

³⁷ Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’

³⁸ ‘You must repent,’ Peter answered ‘and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

³⁹ The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.'[*h]

⁴⁰ He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation’.

⁴¹ They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.

⁴² These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.

⁴³ The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone.

⁴⁴ The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common;

⁴⁵ they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.

⁴⁶ They went as a body to the Temple every day but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously;

⁴⁷ they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved.