Section 2:14–42
Peter preached, and many people believed in Jesus
In this section Peter spoke to the crowd. His speech began with a one-paragraph introduction. In the introduction, he greeted the crowd, asked them to listen carefully, and told them that the believers were not drunk. He also quoted Joel 2:28–32. In the main part of the speech he spoke about Jesus and God’s plan for him. He told them some of King David’s words about the Christ. He told them that those words applied to Jesus. Peter gave his main point at the end of his speech, that Jesus is the Christ.
The people asked Peter what they should do, so he told them to repent and believers would baptize them. Many people became believers and joined the other believers.
Here are other possible headings for this section:
Peter Talks to the Crowd (God’s Word)
-or-
Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost (English Standard Version)
-or-
Peter explains the fulfilment of God’s promise (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
Paragraph 2:14–21
2:14a
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: Someone needed to explain the miracle, because those people didn’t know what to think about it. Also, the people in 2:13 tried to explain it in a wrong way. So Peter spoke for all of the apostles and other believers.
stood up: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stood up indicates that he moved to a place where he could easily speak to the whole crowd. Peter and the other believers were probably not sitting at this time. They probably left the house or room (2:1) when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
taking his stand (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
stepped forward (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
went and stood ⌊before the crowd⌋
the Eleven: This phrase refers to the other eleven apostles. For example:
the other eleven apostles (Good News Translation)
The word Eleven probably only refers to a number. It is probably not a title like the Berean Standard Bible makes it by capitalizing it. Many English versions do not capitalize this word.
lifted up his voice: This phrase indicates that he spoke loudly so that all of the crowd could hear him. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
raised his voice (New International Version)
-or-
in a loud voice (Good News Translation)
-or-
loudly
addressed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as addressed is literally “declared.” It implies he had something important to say. Here are some other ways to translate this word:
declared (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
spoke in a…clear voice (Contemporary English Version)
the crowd: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the crowd is literally “them” (as in the Revised Standard Version). But it refers to the crowd of 2:6–13.
2:14b
Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem: It was customary at that time and place to name the people spoken to when beginning a speech. Peter did so here. This address is polite and respectful. Consider how to indicate that in your language.
Men of Judea: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Men of Judea is literally “men, Jews/Judeans.” There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase:
(1) It refers to those Jews who lived in Judea. For example:
Men of Judea (Revised Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, King James Version)
(2) It refers to Jews in general. For example:
Fellow Jews (Good News Translation)
(New International Version, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), New American Bible, Revised Edition, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because this meaning fits better with the next phrase.
all who dwell in Jerusalem: This phrase probably refers to all the rest of the crowd. This would be Jews and converts to Judaism who were not born in Judea but lived in Jerusalem at that time. It probably included those who were just visiting Jerusalem because they probably stayed for the whole week of the Jewish holy day and festival. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
everyone else living in Jerusalem (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
all the others here in Jerusalem
2:14c
let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words: The Greek verbs that the Berean Standard Bible has translated as let this be known to you and listen carefully, are commands. They are polite requests to get their attention. Consider how to translate these commands as polite requests to listen and hear the explanation of the earlier event. For example:
Allow me to explain this ⌊event⌋ to you. ⌊Please⌋ listen carefully to what I say
The word this refers to 2:15a–36b. It does not refer to listen carefully to my words. In some languages it is more natural to have the second command first. For example:
listen carefully to what I say. Let me explain this to you:
let this be known to you: The Berean Standard Bible literally represents the Greek here. The word this refers to the events of 2:1–4. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
let me explain that to you
-or-
let me tell you what this means (Good News Translation)
listen carefully to my words: The Greek is literally “give ear to my words” (as in the Revised Standard Version). This clause encourages the listeners to listen well. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
give heed to my words (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Listen carefully (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
pay attention to what I say (God’s Word)
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