| 1 | At length, on the day of the Harvest Festival, they had all met in one place; |
| 2 | when suddenly there came from the sky a sound as of a strong rushing blast of wind. This filled the whole house where they were sitting; |
| 3 | and they saw tongues of what looked like fire distributing themselves over the assembly, and on the head of each person a tongue alighted. |
| 4 | They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in foreign languages according as the Spirit gave them words to utter. |
| 5 | Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every part of the world. |
| 6 | So when this noise was heard, they came crowding together, and were amazed because everyone heard his own language spoken. |
| 7 | They were beside themselves with wonder, and exclaimed, 'Are not all these speakers Galilaeans? |
| 8 | How then does each of us hear his own native language spoken by them? |
| 9 | Some of us are Parthians, Medes, Elamites. Some are inhabitants of Mesopotamia, of Judaea or Cappadocia, of Pontus or the Asian Province, of Phrygia or Pamphylia, |
| 10 | of Egypt or of the parts of Africa towards Cyrene. Others are visitors from Rome--being either Jews or converts from heathenism--and others are Cretans or Arabians. |
| 11 | Yet we all alike hear these Galilaeans speaking in our own language about the wonderful things which God has done.' |
| 12 | They were all astounded and bewildered, and asked one another, 'What can this mean?' |
| 13 | But others, scornfully jeering, said, 'They are brim-full of sweet wine.' |
| 14 | Peter however, together with the Eleven, stood up and addressed them in a loud voice. 'Men of Judaea, and all you inhabitants of Jerusalem,' he said, 'be in no uncertainty about this matter but pay attention to what I say. |
| 15 | For this is not intoxication, as you suppose, it being only the third hour of the day. |
| 16 | But that which was predicted through the Prophet Joel has happened: |
| 17 | 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, God says, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall have dreams; |
| 18 | and even upon My bondservants, both men and women, at that time, I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy. |
| 19 | I will display marvels in the sky above, and signs on the earth below, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. |
| 20 | The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, to usher in the day of the Lord-- that great and illustrious day; |
| 21 | and every one who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' |
| 22 | 'Listen, Israelites, to what I say. Jesus, the Nazarene, a man accredited to you from God by miracles and marvels and signs which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know, Him-- |
| 23 | delivered up through God's settled purpose and foreknowledge--you by the hands of Gentiles have nailed to a cross and have put to death. |
| 24 | But God has raised Him to life, having terminated the throes of death, for in fact it was not possible for Him to be held fast by death. |
| 25 | For David says in reference to Him, ''I constantly fixed my eyes upon the Lord, because He is at my right hand in order that I may continue unshaken. |
| 26 | For this reason my heart is glad and my tongue exults. My body also shall rest in hope. |
| 27 | For Thou wilt not leave me in the Unseen World forsaken, nor give up Thy holy One to undergo decay. |
| 28 | Thou hast made known to me the ways of Life: Thou wilt fill me with gladness in Thy presence.' |
| 29 | 'As to the patriarch David, I need hardly remind you, brethren, that he died and was buried, and that we still have his tomb among us. |
| 30 | Being a Prophet, however, and knowing that God had solemnly sworn to him to seat a descendant of his upon his throne, |
| 31 | with prophetic foresight he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, to the effect that He was not left forsaken in the Unseen World, nor did His body undergo decay. |
| 32 | This Jesus, God has raised to life-- a fact to which all of us testify. |
| 33 | 'Being therefore lifted high by the mighty hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out this which you see and hear. |
| 34 | For David did not ascend into Heaven, but he says himself, ''The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand |
| 35 | until I make thy foes a footstool under thy feet.' |
| 36 | 'Therefore let the whole House of Israel know beyond all doubt that God has made Him both LORD and CHRIST--this Jesus whom you crucified.' |
| 37 | Stung to the heart by these words, they said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, 'Brethren, what are we to do?' |
| 38 | 'Repent,' replied Peter, 'and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, with a view to the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
| 39 | For to you belongs the promise, and to your children, and to all who are far off, whoever the Lord our God may call.' |
| 40 | And with many more appeals he solemnly warned and entreated them, saying, 'Escape from this crooked generation.' |
| 41 | Those, therefore, who joyfully welcomed his Message were baptized; and on that one day about three thousand persons were added to them; |
| 42 | and they were constant in listening to the teaching of the Apostles and in their attendance at the Communion, that is, the Breaking of the Bread, and at prayer. |
| 43 | Fear came upon every one, and many marvels and signs were done by the Apostles. |
| 44 | And all the believers kept together, and had everything in common. |
| 45 | They sold their lands and other property, and distributed the proceeds among all, according to every one's necessities. |
| 46 | And, day by day, attending constantly in the Temple with one accord, and breaking bread in private houses, they took their meals with great happiness and single-heartedness, |
| 47 | praising God and being regarded with favour by all the people. Also, day by day, the Lord added to their number those whom He was saving. |