The Meaning of Acts 2:14 Explained

Acts 2:14

KJV: But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

YLT: and Peter having stood up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and declared to them, 'Men, Jews! and all those dwelling in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and harken to my sayings,

Darby: But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke forth to them, Men of Judaea, and all ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words:

ASV: But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them,'saying , Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  Peter,  standing up  with  the eleven,  lifted up  his  voice,  and  said  unto them,  Ye men  of Judaea,  and  all  [ye] that dwell  at Jerusalem,  be  this  known  unto you,  and  hearken  to my  words: 

What does Acts 2:14 Mean?

Study Notes

said unto them
The theme of Peter's sermon at Pentecost is stated in Acts 2:36 . It is, that Jesus is the Messiah. No message could have been more unwelcome to the Jews who had rejected His Messianic claims, and crucified Him. Peter, therefore, does not announce his theme until he has covered every possible Jewish objection. The point of difficulty with the Jews was the apparent failure of the clear and repeated prophetic promise of a regathered Israel established in their own land under their covenanted King (e.g).; Isaiah 11:10-12 ; Jeremiah 23:5-8 ; Ezekiel 37:21-28 . Instead of explaining, as Rome first taught, followed by some Protestant commentators, that the covenant and promises were to be fulfilled in the church in a so-called "spiritual" sense, Peter shows Acts 2:25-32 from Psalms 16. that David himself understood that the dead and risen Christ would fulfil the covenant and sit on his throne Luke 1:32 ; Luke 1:33 . In precisely the same way James Acts 15:14-17 met the same difficulty. See "Kingdom (O.T.)," Zechariah 12:8 (N.T.),; Luke 1:33 ; 1 Corinthians 15:24 .

Context Summary

Acts 2:14-24 - The Outpoured Spirit
The exulting joy of these Spirit-anointed people was accounted for by some through charging them with drunkenness. Peter dismissed the charge as absurd, seeing that the day was yet young. With a readiness that the Spirit had inspired, he declared it to be a partial fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. This is that, Acts 2:16. Alas, we cannot say as much! This might be that; this shall be that-these are all that we can affirm. Shall we ever be able to say, This is that?
In the pre-Christian times the Spirit was given to mountain-top saints, but from Pentecost onward, sons and daughters, old and young, servants and hand-maidens, were to participate in His gracious influences. It is for the democracy of the Church, for the whosoevers who call on the name of the Lord, for the valleys as well as the hills.
Notice that God's determinate counsel and pre-arrangement did not take away the guilt that lay upon the murderers of the Christ. The hands that slew Him were wicked ones, Acts 2:23. But God vindicated Jesus by the Resurrection, which reversed the judgment of men and proved Him the Son of God with power, Romans 1:4. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 2

1  The apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, and speaking various languages,
12  are admired by some, and derided by others;
14  whom Peter disproves;
37  he baptizes a great number who were converted;
41  who afterwards devoutly and charitably converse together;
43  the apostles working many miracles,
46  and God daily increasing his church

Greek Commentary for Acts 2:14

Standing up with the eleven [στατεις συν τοις ενδεκα]
Took his stand with the eleven including Matthias, who also rose up with them, and spoke as their spokesman, a formal and impressive beginning. The Codex Bezae has “ten apostles.” Luke is fond of this pictorial use of στατεις — statheis (first aorist passive participle of ιστημι — histēmi) as seen nowhere else in the N.T. (Luke 18:11, Luke 18:40; Luke 19:8; Acts 5:20; Acts 17:22; Acts 27:21). [source]
Lifted up his voice [επηρεν την πωνην αυτου]
This phrase only in Luke in the N.T. (Luke 11:29; Acts 2:14; Acts 14:11; Acts 22:22), but is common in the old writers. First aorist active indicative of επαιρω — epairō The large crowd and the confusion of tongues demanded loud speaking. “This most solemn, earnest, yet sober speech” (Bengel). Codex Bezae adds “first” after “voice.” Peter did it to win and hold attention. Give ear unto my words (ενωτισαστε τα ρηματα μου — enōtisasthe ta rhēmata mou). Late verb in lxx and only here in the N.T. First aorist middle from ενωτιζομαι — enōtizomai (εν ους — enous ear) to give ear to, receive into the ear. People‘s ears differ greatly, but in public speech they have to be reached through the ear. That puts an obligation on the speaker and also on the auditors who should sit where they can hear with the ears which they have, an obligation often overlooked. [source]
Give ear unto my words [ενωτισαστε τα ρηματα μου]
Late verb in lxx and only here in the N.T. First aorist middle from ενωτιζομαι — enōtizomai (εν ους — enous ear) to give ear to, receive into the ear. People‘s ears differ greatly, but in public speech they have to be reached through the ear. That puts an obligation on the speaker and also on the auditors who should sit where they can hear with the ears which they have, an obligation often overlooked. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 2:14

Matthew 16:18 Thou art Peter [οὺ εἶ Πέτρος]
Christ responds to Peter's emphatic thou with another, equally emphatic. Peter says, “Thou art the Christ.” Christ replies, “Thou art Peter.” Πέτρος (Peter ) is used as a proper name, but without losing its meaning as a common noun. The name was bestowed on Simon at his first interview with Jesus (John 1:42) under the form of its Aramaic equivalent, CephasIn this passage attention is called, not to the giving of the name, but to its meaning. In classical Greek the word means a piece of rock, as in Homer, of Ajax throwing a stone at Hector (“Iliadvii., 270), or of Patroclus grasping and hiding in his hand a jagged stone (“Iliadxvi., 784).On this rock ( ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέρᾳ )The word is feminine, and means a rock, as distinguished from a stone or a fragment of rock ( πέτρος , above). Used of a ledge of rocks or a rocky peak. In Homer (“Odyssey,” ix., 243), the rock ( πέτρην ) which Polyphemus places at the door of his cavern, is a mass which two-and-twenty wagons could not remove; and the rock which he hurled at the retreating ships of Ulysses, created by its fall a wave in the sea which drove the ships back toward the land (“Odyssey,” ix., 484). The word refers neither to Christ as a rock, distinguished from Simon, a stone, nor to Peter's confession, but to Peter himself, in a sense defined by his previous confession, and as enlightened by the “Father in Heaven.” The reference of πέτρα to Christ is forced and unnatural. The obvious reference of the word is to Peter. The emphatic this naturally refers to the nearest antecedent; and besides, the metaphor is thus weakened, since Christ appears here, not as the foundation, but as the architect: “On this rock will I build.” Again, Christ is the great foundation, the “chief corner-stone,” but the New Testament writers recognize no impropriety in applying to the members of Christ's church certain terms which are applied to him. For instance, Peter himself (1 Peter 2:4), calls Christ a living stone, and, in 1 Peter 2:5, addresses the church as living stones. In Revelation 21:14, the names of the twelve apostles appear in the twelve foundation-stones of the heavenly city; and in Ephesians 2:20, it is said, “Ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (i.e., laid by the apostles and prophets), Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.” Equally untenable is the explanation which refers πέτρα to Simon's confession. Both the play upon the words and the natural reading of the passage are against it, and besides, it does not conform to the fact, since the church is built, not on confessions, but on confessors - living men. “The word πέτρα ,” says Edersheim, “was used in the same sense in Rabbinic language. According to the Rabbins, when God was about to build his world, he could not rear it on the generation of Enos, nor on that of the flood, who brought destruction upon the world; but when he beheld that Abraham would arise in the future, he said' 'Behold, I have found a rock to build on it, and to found the world,' whence, also, Abraham is called a rock, as it is said' 'Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn.' The parallel between Abraham and Peter might be carried even further. If, from a misunderstanding of the Lord's promise to Peter, later Christian legend represented the apostle as sitting at the gate of heaven, Jewish legend represents Abraham as sitting at the gate of Gehenna, so as to prevent all who had the seal of circumcision from falling into its abyss” (“Life and Times of Jesus”). The reference to Simon himself is confirmed by the actual relation of Peter to the early church, to the Jewish portion of which he was a foundation-stone. See Acts, Acts 1:15; Acts 2:14, Acts 2:37; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:8; Acts 5:15, Acts 5:29; Acts 9:34, Acts 9:40; Acts 10:25, Acts 10:26; Galatians 1:15.Church ( ἐκκλησίαν ) ἐκ out, καλέω , to call or summon. This is the first occurrence of this word in the New Testament. Originally an assembly of citizens, regularly summoned. So in New Testament, Acts 19:39. The Septuagint uses the word for the congregation of Israel, either as summoned for a definite purpose (Acts 7:38); but for this there is more commonly employed συναγωγή , of which synagogue is a transcription; σύν , together, ἄγω , to bring (Acts 13:43). In Christ's words to Peter the word ἐκκλησία acquires special emphasis from the opposition implied in it to the synagogue. The Christian community in the midst of Israel would be designated as ἐκκλησία , without being confounded with the συναγωγή , the Jewish community. See Acts 5:11; Acts 8:1; Acts 12:1; Acts 14:23, Acts 14:27, etc. Nevertheless συναγωγή is applied to a Christian assembly in James 2:2, while ἐπισυναγωγή (gathering or assembling together ) is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:1; Hebrews 10:25. Both in Hebrew and in New Testament usage ἐκκλησία implies more than a collective or national unity; rather a community based on a special religious idea and established in a special way. In the New Testament the term is used also in the narrower sense of a single church, or a church confined to a particular place. So of the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (Romans 16:5); the church at Corinth, the churches in Judea, the church at Jerusalem, etc.Gates of hell ( πύλαι ᾅδου )Rev., Hades. Hades was originally the name of the god who presided over the realm of the dead - Pluto or Dis. Hence the phrase, house of Hades. It is derived from ἀ , not, and; ἰδεῖν , to see; and signifies, therefore, the invisible land, the realm of shadow. It is the place to which all who depart this life descend, without reference to their moral character. By this word the Septuagint translated the Hebrew Sheol, which has a similar general meaning. The classical Hades embraced both good and bad men, though divided into Elysium, the abode of the virtuous, and Tartarus, the abode of the wicked. In these particulars it corresponds substantially with Sheol; both the godly and the wicked being represented as gathered into the latter. See Genesis 42:38; Psalm 9:17; Psalm 139:8; Isaiah 14:9; Isaiah 57:2; Ezekiel 32:27; Hosea 13:14. Hades and Sheol were alike conceived as a definite place, lower than the world. The passage of both good and bad into it was regarded as a descent. The Hebrew conception is that of a place of darkness; a cheerless home of a dull, joyless, shadowy life. See Psalm 6:5; Psalm 94:17; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 88:5, Psalm 88:6, Psalm 88:10; Job 10:21; Job 3:17-19; Job 14:10, Job 14:11; Ecclesiastes 9:5. Vagueness is its characteristic. In this the Hebrew's faith appears bare in contrast with that of the Greek and Roman. The pagan poets gave the popular mind definite pictures of Tartarus and Elysium; of Styx and Acheron; of happy plains where dead heroes held high discourse, and of black abysses where offenders underwent strange and ingenious tortures. There was, indeed, this difference between the Hebrew and the Pagan conceptions; that to the Pagan, Hades was the final home of its tenants, while Sheol was a temporary condition. Hence the patriarchs are described (Hebrews 11:16) as looking for a better, heavenly country; and the martyrs as enduring in hope of “a better resurrection.” Prophecy declared that the dead should arise and sing, when Sheol itself should be destroyed and its inmates brought forth, some to everlasting life, and others to shame and contempt (Isaiah 26:19; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12:2). Paul represents this promise as made to the fathers by God, and as the hope of his countrymen (Acts 26:7). God was the God of the dead as well as of the living; present in the dark chambers of Sheol as well as in heaven (Psalm 139:8; Psalm 16:10). This is the underlying thought of that most touching and pathetic utterance of Job (Job 14:13-15), in which he breathes the wish that God would hide him with loving care in Hades, as a place of temporary concealment, where he will wait patiently, standing like a sentinel at his post, awaiting the divine voice calling him to a new and happier life. This, too, is the thought of the familiar and much-disputed passage, Job 19:23-27. His Redeemer, vindicator, avenger, shall arise after he shall have passed through the shadowy realm of Sheol. “A judgment in Hades, in which the judge will show himself his friend, in which all the tangled skein of his life will be unravelled by wise and kindly hands, and the insoluble problem of his strange and self-contradicting experience will at last be solved - this is what Job still looks for on that happy day when he shall see God for himself, and find his Goel (vindicator) in that Almighty Deliverer” (Cox, “Commentary on the Book of Job”). In the New Testament, Hades is the realm of the dead. It cannot be successfully maintained that it is, in particular, the place for sinners (so Cremer, “Biblico-Theological Lexicon”). The words about Capernaum (Matthew 11:23), which it is surprising to find Cremer citing in support of this position, are merely a rhetorical expression of a fall from the height of earthly glory to the deepest degradation, and have no more bearing upon the moral character of Hades than the words of Zophar (Job 11:7, Job 11:8) about the perfection of the Almighty. “It is high as heaven - deeper than Sheol. ” Hades is indeed coupled with Death (Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14), but the association is natural, and indeed inevitable, apart from all moral distinctions. Death would naturally be followed by Hades in any case. In Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14, the general judgment is predicted, and not only Death and Hades, but the sea give tip their dead, and only those who are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). The rich man was in Hades (Luke 16:23), and in torments, but Lazarus was also in Hades, “in Abraham's bosom.” The details of this story “evidently represent the views current at the time among the Jews. According to them, the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life were the abode of the blessed. We read that the righteous in Eden see the wicked in Gehenna and rejoice; and similarly, that the wicked in Gehenna see the righteous sitting beatified in Eden, and their souls are troubled (Edersheim, “Life and Times of Jesus”). Christ also was in Hades (Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31). Moreover, the word γέεννα , hell (see on Matthew 5:22), is specially used to denote the place of future punishment. Hades, then, in the New Testament, is a broad and general conception, with an idea of locality bound up with it. It is the condition following death, which is blessed or the contrary, according to the moral character of the dead, and is therefore divided into different realms, represented by Paradise or Abraham's bosom, and Gehenna. The expression Gates of Hades is an orientalism for the court, throne, power, and dignity of the infernal kingdom. Hades is contemplated as a mighty city, with formidable, frowning portals. Some expositors introduce also the idea of the councils of the Satanic powers, with reference to the Eastern custom of holding such deliberations in the gates of cities. Compare the expression Sublime Porte, applied to the Ottoman court. The idea of a building is maintained in both members of the comparison. The kingdom or city of Hades confronts and assaults the church which Christ will build upon the rock. See Job 38:17; Psalm 9:13; Psalm 107:18; Isaiah 38:10. [source]
Acts 5:20 Stand []
Compare Acts 2:14; and see on Luke 18:11; and Luke 19:8. [source]
Acts 17:22 Stood in the midst of the Areopagus [στατεις εν μεσωι του Αρειου Παγου]
First aorist passive of ιστημι — histēmi used of Peter in Acts 2:14. Majestic figure whether on Mars Hill or in the Stoa Basilica before the Areopagus Court. There would be a crowd of spectators and philosophers in either case and Paul seized the opportunity to preach Christ to this strange audience as he did in Caesarea before Herod Agrippa and the crowd of prominent people gathered by Festus for the entertainment. Paul does not speak as a man on trial, but as one trying to get a hearing for the gospel of Christ. [source]
Acts 2:4 As the Spirit gave them utterance [κατως το πνευμα εδιδου αποπτεγγεσται αυτοις]
This is precisely what Paul claims in 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:28, but all the same without an interpreter the gift was not to be exercised (1 Corinthians 14:6-19). Paul had the gift of tongues, but refused to exercise it except as it would be understood. Note the imperfect tense here Perhaps they did not all speak at once, but one after another. Αποπτεγγεσται — Apophtheggesthai is a late verb (lxx of prophesying, papyri). Lucian uses it of the ring of a vessel when it strikes a reef. It is used of eager, elevated, impassioned utterance. In the N.T. only here, Acts 2:14; Acts 26:25. Αποπτεγμ — Apophthegm is from this verb. [source]
Acts 2:5 Were dwelling [ησαν κατοικουντες]
Periphrastic imperfect active indicative. Usually κατοικεω — katoikeō means residence in a place (Acts 4:16; Acts 7:24; Acts 9:22, Acts 9:32) as in Acts 2:14 (Luke 13:4). Perhaps some had come to Jerusalem to live while others were here only temporarily, for the same word occurs in Acts 2:9 of those who dwell in Mesopotamia, etc. [source]
Acts 2:14 Lifted up his voice [επηρεν την πωνην αυτου]
This phrase only in Luke in the N.T. (Luke 11:29; Acts 2:14; Acts 14:11; Acts 22:22), but is common in the old writers. First aorist active indicative of επαιρω — epairō The large crowd and the confusion of tongues demanded loud speaking. “This most solemn, earnest, yet sober speech” (Bengel). Codex Bezae adds “first” after “voice.” Peter did it to win and hold attention. Give ear unto my words (ενωτισαστε τα ρηματα μου — enōtisasthe ta rhēmata mou). Late verb in lxx and only here in the N.T. First aorist middle from ενωτιζομαι — enōtizomai (εν ους — enous ear) to give ear to, receive into the ear. People‘s ears differ greatly, but in public speech they have to be reached through the ear. That puts an obligation on the speaker and also on the auditors who should sit where they can hear with the ears which they have, an obligation often overlooked. [source]
Acts 26:25 But speak forth [αλλα αποπτεγγομαι]
Verb for dignified and elevated discourse, a word from the literary Koiné, not the vernacular. In N.T. only here and Acts 2:4, Acts 2:14 which see. It occurs three times in Vettius Valens in a “mantic” sense. Paul was not ruffled by the rude and excited interruption of Festus, but speaks with perfect courtesy in his reply “words of truth and soberness.” The old word σωπροσυνη — sōphrosunē (soundness of mind) from σωπρων — sōphrōn (and that from σως — sōs and πρην — phrēn) is directly opposed to “madness” (μανια — mania) and in N.T. occurs only here and 1 Timothy 2:15. [source]
Acts 27:21 Stood forth [στατεις]
As in Acts 1:15; Acts 2:14; Acts 17:22. Pictorial word (Page) that sets forth the vividness and solemnity of the scene (Knowling). Ye should have hearkened unto me (εδει μεν πειταρχησαντας μοι — edei men peitharchēsantas moi). Literally, “It was necessary for you hearkening unto me not to set sail (μη αναγεσται — mē anagesthai).” It was not the “I told you so” of a small nature, “but a reference to the wisdom of his former counsel in order to induce acceptance of his present advice” (Furneaux). The first aorist active participle is in the accusative of general reference with the present infinitive αναγεσται — anagesthai And have gotten this injury and loss This Ionic form κερδησαι — kerdēsai (from κερδαω — kerdaō) rather than κερδηναι — kerdēnai or κερδαναι — kerdēnai is common in late Greek (Robertson, Grammar, p. 349). The Revised Version thus carries over the negative μη — mē to this first aorist active infinitive κερδησαι — kerdēsai from κερδαω — kerdaō (cf. Matthew 16:26). But Page follows Thayer in urging that this is not exact, that Paul means that by taking his advice they ought to have escaped this injury and loss. “A person is said in Greek ‹to gain a loss‘ when, being in danger of incurring it, he by his conduct saves himself from doing so.” This is probably Paul‘s idea here. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 2:14 mean?

Having stood up however - Peter with the eleven he lifted up the voice of him and spoke forth to them Men of Judea those inhabiting Jerusalem all this to you known let be give heed to the words of me
Σταθεὶς δὲ Πέτρος σὺν τοῖς ἕνδεκα ἐπῆρεν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπεφθέγξατο αὐτοῖς Ἄνδρες Ἰουδαῖοι οἱ κατοικοῦντες Ἰερουσαλὴμ πάντες τοῦτο ὑμῖν γνωστὸν ἔστω ἐνωτίσασθε τὰ ῥήματά μου

Σταθεὶς  Having  stood  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Passive, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἵστημι  
Sense: to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Πέτρος  Peter 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Πέτρος  
Sense: one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.
ἕνδεκα  eleven 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: ἕνδεκα  
Sense: eleven.
ἐπῆρεν  he  lifted  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐπαίρω  
Sense: to lift up, raise up, raise on high.
φωνὴν  voice 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: φωνή  
Sense: a sound, a tone.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἀπεφθέγξατο  spoke  forth 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀποφθέγγομαι  
Sense: to speak out, speak forth, pronounce.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ἄνδρες  Men 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀνήρ  
Sense: with reference to sex.
Ἰουδαῖοι  of  Judea 
Parse: Adjective, Vocative Masculine Plural
Root: Ἰουδαῖος  
Sense: Jewish, belonging to the Jewish race.
οἱ  those 
Parse: Article, Vocative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
κατοικοῦντες  inhabiting 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Vocative Masculine Plural
Root: κατοικέω 
Sense: to dwell, settle.
Ἰερουσαλὴμ  Jerusalem 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: Ἰερουσαλήμ  
Sense: denotes either the city itself or the inhabitants.
τοῦτο  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
γνωστὸν  known 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: γνώριμος 
Sense: known, notable.
ἔστω  let  be 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἐνωτίσασθε  give  heed  to 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Middle, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἐνωτίζομαι  
Sense: to receive into the ear, to give ear to, listen.
ῥήματά  words 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ῥῆμα  
Sense: that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word.
μου  of  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.