Acts 2:32-47

2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. ¹  2:33 So then, exalted ²  to the right hand ³  of God, and having received ⁴  the promise of the Holy Spirit ⁵  from the Father, he has poured out ⁶  what you both see and hear. 2:34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,

‘The Lord said to my lord,

“Sit ⁷  at my right hand

2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool ⁸  for your feet.”’ ⁹ 

2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt ¹⁰  that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified ¹¹  both Lord ¹²  and Christ.” ¹³ 

The Response to Peter’s Address

2:37 Now when they heard this, ¹⁴  they were acutely distressed ¹⁵  and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized ¹⁶  in the name of Jesus Christ ¹⁷  for ¹⁸  the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹  2:39 For the promise ²⁰  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 2:40 With many other words he testified ²¹  and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse ²²  generation!” 2:41 So those who accepted ²³  his message ²⁴  were baptized, and that day about three thousand people ²⁵  were added. ²⁶ 

The Fellowship of the Early Believers

2:42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, ²⁷  to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ²⁸  2:43 Reverential awe ²⁹  came over everyone, ³⁰  and many wonders and miraculous signs ³¹  came about by the apostles. 2:44 All who believed were together and held ³²  everything in common, 2:45 and they began selling ³³  their property ³⁴  and possessions and distributing the proceeds ³⁵  to everyone, as anyone had need. 2:46 Every day ³⁶  they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, ³⁷  breaking bread from ³⁸  house to house, sharing their food with glad ³⁹  and humble hearts, ⁴⁰  2:47 praising God and having the good will ⁴¹  of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day ⁴²  those who were being saved.

[2:32]  ¹ tn Or “of him”; Grk “of which [or whom] we are all witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

[2:33]  ² tn The aorist participle ὑψωθείς (Juywqei") could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…” In the translation the more neutral “exalted” (a shorter form of “having been exalted”) was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ³ sn The expression the right hand of God represents supreme power and authority. Its use here sets up the quotation of Ps 110:1 in v. 34.

[2:33]  ⁴ tn The aorist participle λαβών (labwn) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.” In the translation the more neutral “having received” was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ⁵ tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:33]  ⁶ sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.

[2:34]  ⁷ sn Sit at my right hand. The word “sit” alludes back to the promise of “seating one on his throne” in v. 30.

[2:35]  ⁸ sn The metaphor make your enemies a footstool portrays the complete subjugation of the enemies.

[2:35]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1, one of the most often-cited OT passages in the NT, pointing to the exaltation of Jesus.

[2:36]  ¹⁰ tn Or “know for certain.” This term is in an emphatic position in the clause.

[2:36]  ¹¹ tn Grk “has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” The clause has been simplified in the translation by replacing the pronoun “him” with the explanatory clause “this Jesus whom you crucified” which comes at the end of the sentence.

[2:36]  ¹² sn Lord. This looks back to the quotation of Ps 110:1 and the mention of “calling on the Lord” in 2:21. Peter’s point is that the Lord on whom one calls for salvation is Jesus, because he is the one mediating God’s blessing of the Spirit as a sign of the presence of salvation and the last days.

[2:36]  ¹³ tn Or “and Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:37]  ¹⁴ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[2:37]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “they were pierced to the heart” (an idiom for acute emotional distress).

[2:38]  ¹⁶ tn The verb is a third person imperative, but the common translation “let each of you be baptized” obscures the imperative force in English, since it sounds more like a permissive (“each of you may be baptized”) to the average English reader.

[2:38]  ¹⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:38]  ¹⁸ tn There is debate over the meaning of εἰς in the prepositional phrase εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν (eis afesin twn Jamartiwn Jumwn, “for/because of/with reference to the forgiveness of your sins”). Although a causal sense has been argued, it is difficult to maintain here. ExSyn 369-71 discusses at least four other ways of dealing with the passage: (1) The baptism referred to here is physical only, and εἰς has the meaning of “for” or “unto.” Such a view suggests that salvation is based on works – an idea that runs counter to the theology of Acts, namely: (a) repentance often precedes baptism (cf. Acts 3:19; 26:20), and (b) salvation is entirely a gift of God, not procured via water baptism (Acts 10:43 [cf. v. 47]; 13:38-39, 48; 15:11; 16:30-31; 20:21; 26:18); (2) The baptism referred to here is spiritual only. Although such a view fits well with the theology of Acts, it does not fit well with the obvious meaning of “baptism” in Acts – especially in this text (cf. 2:41); (3) The text should be repunctuated in light of the shift from second person plural to third person singular back to second person plural again. The idea then would be, “Repent for/with reference to your sins, and let each one of you be baptized…” Such a view is an acceptable way of handling εἰς, but its subtlety and awkwardness count against it; (4) Finally, it is possible that to a first-century Jewish audience (as well as to Peter), the idea of baptism might incorporate both the spiritual reality and the physical symbol. That Peter connects both closely in his thinking is clear from other passages such as Acts 10:47 and 11:15-16. If this interpretation is correct, then Acts 2:38 is saying very little about the specific theological relationship between the symbol and the reality, only that historically they were viewed together. One must look in other places for a theological analysis. For further discussion see R. N. Longenecker, “Acts,” EBC 9:283-85; B. Witherington, Acts, 154-55; F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 129-30; BDAG 290 s.v. εἰς 4.f.

[2:38]  ¹⁹ tn Here the genitive τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tou Jagiou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:39]  ²⁰ sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.

[2:40]  ²¹ tn Or “warned.”

[2:40]  ²² tn Or “crooked” (in a moral or ethical sense). See Luke 3:5.

[2:41]  ²³ tn Or “who acknowledged the truth of.”

[2:41]  ²⁴ tn Grk “word.”

[2:41]  ²⁵ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

[2:41]  ²⁶ tn Or “were won over.”

[2:42]  ²⁷ sn Fellowship refers here to close association involving mutual involvement and relationships.

[2:42]  ²⁸ tn Grk “prayers.” This word was translated as a collective singular in keeping with English style.

[2:43]  ²⁹ tn Or “Fear.”

[2:43]  ³⁰ tn Grk “on every soul” (here “soul” is an idiom for the whole person).

[2:43]  ³¹ tn In this context the miraculous nature of these signs is implied. Cf. BDAG 920 s.v. σημεῖον 2.a.

[2:44]  ³² tn Grk “had.”

[2:45]  ³³ tn The imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive (“began…”). Since in context this is a description of the beginning of the community of believers, it is more likely that these statements refer to the start of various activities and practices that the early church continued for some time.

[2:45]  ³⁴ tn It is possible that the first term for property (κτήματα, kthmata) refers to real estate (as later usage seems to indicate) while the second term (ὑπάρξεις, Juparxeis) refers to possessions in general, but it may also be that the two terms are used together for emphasis, simply indicating that all kinds of possessions were being sold. However, if the first term is more specifically a reference to real estate, it foreshadows the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

[2:45]  ³⁵ tn Grk “distributing them” (αὐτά, auta). The referent (the proceeds of the sales) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:46]  ³⁶ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[2:46]  ³⁷ tn Grk “in the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[2:46]  ³⁸ tn Here κατά (kata) is used as a distributive (BDAG 512 s.v. B.1.d).

[2:46]  ³⁹ sn The term glad (Grk “gladness”) often refers to joy brought about by God’s saving acts (Luke 1:14, 44; also the related verb in 1:47; 10:21).

[2:46]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “with gladness and humbleness of hearts.” It is best to understand καρδίας (kardias) as an attributed genitive, with the two nouns it modifies actually listing attributes of the genitive noun which is related to them.

[2:47]  ⁴¹ tn Or “the favor.”

[2:47]  ⁴² tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.