The Acts of the Apostles

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 2 -

(Genesis 11:1–9; Leviticus 23:15–22)

And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place:

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them:

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak.

Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue.

And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these, that speak, Galileans?

And how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born?

Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,

Jews also, and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

And they were all astonished, and wondered, saying one to another: What meaneth this?

But others mocking, said: These men are full of new wine.

Peter Addresses the Crowd

(Psalm 16:1–11; Joel 2:28–32)

But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words.

For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day:

But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel:

And it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord,) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy.

And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord come.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.

Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him, in the midst of you, as you also know:

This same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by the hands of wicked men have crucified and slain.

Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, as it was impossible that he should be holden by it.

For David saith concerning him: I foresaw the Lord before my face: because he is at my right hand, that I may not be moved.

For this my heart hath been glad, and any tongue hath rejoiced: moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope.

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.

Thou hast made known to me the ways of life: thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

Ye men, brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David; that he died, and was buried; and his sepulchre is with us to this present day.

Whereas therefore he was a prophet, and knew that God hath sworn to him with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins one should sit upon his throne.

Foreseeing this, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ. For neither was he left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption.

This Jesus hath God raised again, whereof all we are witnesses.

Being exalted therefore by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath poured forth this which you see and hear.

For David ascended not into heaven; but he himself said: The Lord said to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand,

Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know most certainly, that God hath made both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus, whom you have crucified.

Three Thousand Believe

Now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their heart, and said to Peter, and to the rest of the apostles: What shall we do, men and brethren?

But Peter said to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call.

And with very many other words did he testify and exhort them, saying: Save yourselves from this perverse generation.

They therefore that received his word, were baptized; and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.

The Fellowship of Believers

(Acts 4:32–37)

And they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

And fear came upon every soul: many wonders also and signs were done by the apostles in Jerusalem, and there was great fear in all.

And all they that believed, were together, and had all things common.

Their possessions and goods they sold, and divided them to all, according as every one had need.

And continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meat with gladness and simplicity of heart;

Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord increased daily together such as should be saved.

(Genesis 11:1–9; Leviticus 23:15–22)

Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.

When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.

They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?

How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,

Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

Cretans and Arabians—we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”

They were all amazed and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

(Psalm 16:1–11; Joel 2:28–32)

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.(a)

But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:

‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.

Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’(b)

“Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,

him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;

whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.

For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.

Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope,

because you will not leave my soul in Hades,(c) neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.

You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’(d)

“Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ(e) to sit on his throne,

he foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades,(f) and his flesh didn’t see decay.

This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.

Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear.

For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’(g)

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Three Thousand Believe

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

With many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.

The Fellowship of Believers

(Acts 4:32–37)

They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.

Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

All who believed were together, and had all things in common.

They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.

Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,

praising God and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.

Footnotes

(a)2:15 about 9:00 a.m.

(b)2:21 ℘ Joel 2:28-32

(d)2:28 ℘ Psalms 16:8-11

(e)2:30 “Christ” means “Anointed One”.

(f)2:31 or, Hell

(g)2:35 ℘ Psalms 110:1