Acts 2:4 kjv
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4 nkjv
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4 niv
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts 2:4 esv
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:4 nlt
And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
Acts 2 4 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Joel 2:28-29 | "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh..." | Prophecy of the Spirit's universal outpouring. |
| Lk 24:49 | "And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you..." | Jesus' promise of the Spirit, "power from on high." |
| Acts 1:4-5 | "...wait for the promise of the Father, which... you heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit..." | Instruction to wait for Spirit baptism. |
| Acts 1:8 | "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses..." | Spirit empowers for witness and mission. |
| Acts 2:33 | "Having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured forth this..." | Peter links the event to Jesus' ascension and the Father's promise. |
| Acts 4:8 | Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them... | An example of being filled for courageous speech. |
| Acts 4:31 | "...they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness." | Renewed filling of the Spirit for bold proclamation. |
| Acts 6:3 | "...seek out among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom..." | Spirit-filled quality for service and leadership. |
| Acts 7:55 | "But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven..." | Stephen filled for spiritual perception and courage in martyrdom. |
| Acts 9:17 | "...that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." | Saul (Paul) filled by Ananias's laying on of hands. |
| Acts 10:44-46 | "...the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word... they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God." | Gentiles receive the Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues, paralleling Pentecost. |
| Acts 11:15 | "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning." | Peter confirms the Gentile experience as like Pentecost. |
| Acts 13:9 | Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit... | Paul filled for spiritual discernment and judgment. |
| Acts 13:52 | "...the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." | Ongoing experience of joy and Spirit-filling. |
| Eph 5:18 | "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit..." | Command to continually be filled with the Spirit. |
| Mk 16:17 | "And these signs will follow those who believe... they will speak with new tongues..." | Promise of "new tongues" as a sign for believers. |
| 1 Cor 12:10 | "...to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, the interpretation of tongues..." | Speaking in tongues listed as a spiritual gift within the body of Christ. |
| 1 Cor 14:2 | "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God..." | Context of speaking to God, implying intelligibility for private prayer. |
| 1 Cor 14:18 | "I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all..." | Paul's personal practice of tongues. |
| 1 Cor 14:22 | "Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers..." | Tongues as a sign for unbelievers, specifically demonstrated in Acts 2. |
| Isa 28:11-12 | "For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people..." | OT prophecy related to God speaking through foreign tongues as a sign. |
| Gen 11:7-9 | "...let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” | Babel, where languages were confused; Pentecost reverses this division. |
Acts 2 verses
Acts 2 4 Meaning
Acts 2:4 describes the transformative event on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples. They were completely saturated and empowered by the Spirit, leading them to speak in foreign languages previously unknown to them. This supernatural utterance was entirely prompted and enabled by the Holy Spirit, serving as a powerful sign and an immediate means of communicating the gospel to a diverse, multilingual crowd gathered in Jerusalem.
Acts 2 4 Context
Acts 2:4 is a pivotal moment following the disciples' obedience to Jesus' command (Acts 1:4) to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, the baptism with the Holy Spirit. They were gathered in one accord in one place, anticipating this event. The verses immediately preceding Acts 2:4 describe powerful supernatural phenomena: a sound like a mighty rushing wind filling the house, and cloven tongues as of fire appearing and resting on each of them (Acts 2:2-3). This prepared the setting for the dramatic filling and utterance that followed. Historically, this took place during the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), a major pilgrimage festival, ensuring that Jews and proselytes from numerous nations were present in Jerusalem, setting the stage for the miraculous communication in their respective languages described in Acts 2:5-11.
Acts 2 4 Word analysis
- And: Kai (Greek). Connects this action directly to the preceding manifestations of sound and fire. It denotes continuity and immediate consequence.
- they were all: eplēsthēsan pantes (Greek). "All" emphasizes universality among the gathered disciples (approx. 120, Acts 1:15). "Were filled" (eplēsthēsan, aorist passive indicative from pimplemi) signifies a completed action of being completely saturated, permeated, and controlled by an external force – in this case, the Spirit. It's not a mere superficial touch but a thorough indwelling and empowering.
- with the Holy Ghost: Hagiou Pneumatos (Greek). Hagios means holy, sacred, set apart; Pneuma means breath, wind, spirit. It refers to the divine, distinct, and life-giving Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity. This emphasizes the divine origin and nature of the power and gifts received. The Spirit is the source, not merely an experience.
- and began: kai ērxanto (Greek). "Began" indicates the initiation of a new activity, a departure from their previous state of speech, implying a clear shift and an unprecedented expression.
- to speak: lalein (Greek). Simple word for speaking or conversing. Here, it refers to vocal expression guided supernaturally.
- with other tongues: heterais glōssais (Greek). Heterais (from heteros) means "other" in the sense of different in kind, foreign, distinct. Glōssais (from glōssa) means "tongues" or "languages." This explicitly clarifies that the speaking was in foreign, intelligible human languages, unknown to the speaker but recognizable to listeners (as confirmed in Acts 2:6-11), distinguishing it from unintelligible ecstatic utterances. This was a miraculous reversal of Babel, unifying disparate peoples through the proclamation of God's deeds.
- as the Spirit gave them utterance: kathōs to Pneuma edidou apophtheggesthai autois (Greek). "As" (kathōs) signifies the manner or degree; "the Spirit gave" (to Pneuma edidou) denotes divine agency, continuous giving, and direct divine enablement. "Utterance" (apophtheggesthai) means to speak out, declare solemnly, or express inspiredly. This phrase highlights that the speaking was not self-generated or rehearsed but entirely a supernatural prompting and control of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit did not just give them the ability to speak, but what to speak.
- And they were all filled: This phrase establishes the collective, saturating experience of the entire group present. The Spirit's infilling was comprehensive, affecting every individual. This is a foundational experience, not just for a select few leaders.
- filled with the Holy Ghost: This emphasizes the source of empowerment. It's not human ability, but the divine Spirit taking full possession, equipping them for the unprecedented task of spreading the gospel. This filling signifies both enablement and intimate fellowship.
- began to speak with other tongues: This denotes the immediate and public manifestation of the filling. The "other tongues" signifies a miraculous gift enabling cross-cultural communication without prior learning. It was a sign to the gathered multi-ethnic crowd, demonstrating God's power.
- as the Spirit gave them utterance: This phrase is crucial as it asserts divine control and origin of the phenomenon. It wasn't the disciples consciously forming foreign words but the Spirit directly inspiring and empowering the specific vocalizations. It rules out mimicry or natural language acquisition.
Acts 2 4 Bonus section
The event in Acts 2:4 serves as a spiritual counterpoint to the Tower of Babel (Gen 11), where human pride led to the confusion of languages and dispersion. At Pentecost, God reversed this linguistic division through the Holy Spirit, enabling unified communication for the purpose of salvation and gathering, not scattering, people. This demonstrates the Holy Spirit's role in breaking down barriers—linguistic, ethnic, and spiritual—to fulfill God's redemptive plan for all humanity. This filling with the Spirit, though marked by tongues in this instance, is fundamentally about receiving divine power for effective witness and participation in God's mission, rather than merely for personal expression.
Acts 2 4 Commentary
Acts 2:4 vividly details the empowering outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The disciples' universal filling by the Spirit marks the inaugurated presence of God indwelling believers in the New Covenant era. The immediate and primary evidence of this filling was speaking in "other tongues," meaning foreign, intelligible languages. This was not mere ecstatic utterance but a Spirit-directed miracle of communication. The purpose was clearly demonstrated in the verses that follow (Acts 2:5-11), enabling the evangelistic message to bypass language barriers and be heard by Jewish pilgrims from various nations gathered in Jerusalem. This event authenticated the divine origin of the disciples' message, demonstrated God's desire for all peoples to hear the gospel, and initiated the Church's global mission with divine power.