Acts 2:3

Acts 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
• New International Version (NIV)They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

Context of Acts 2:3

1And when the day of Pentecost was now accomplishing, they were all together in one place. 2And there came suddenly a sound out of heaven as of a violent impetuous blowing, and filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues, as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them. 4And they were all filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave to them to speak forth. 5Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, pious men, from every nation of those under heaven.

Acts 2:3 word by word

καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρὸς ἐφ᾽ ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶνRead the interlinear

• tonguesγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• satκαθίζωkathizō · to seatG2523
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520

Cross-references for Acts 2:3

• Acts 2:4And they were all filled with [the] Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave to them to speak forth.
• Genesis 11:6And Jehovah said, Behold, the people is one, and have all one language; and this have they begun to do. And now will they be hindered in nothing that they meditate doing.
• Psalms 55:9Swallow [them] up, Lord; divide their tongue: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
• 1 Corinthians 12:10and to another operations of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; and to a different one kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues.
• Revelation 14:6And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having [the] everlasting glad tidings to announce to those settled on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people,
• Isaiah 6:5And I said, Woe unto me! for I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.
• Jeremiah 23:29Is not my word like a fire, saith Jehovah; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces?
• Malachi 3:2But who shall endure the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he will be like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' lye.
• Matthew 3:11I indeed baptise you with water to repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not fit to bear; he shall baptise you with [the] Holy Spirit and fire;
• Luke 24:32And they said to one another, Was not our heart burning in us as he spoke to us on the way, [and] as he opened the scriptures to us?
• James 3:6and the tongue [is] fire, the world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set in our members, the defiler of the whole body, and which sets fire to the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell.
• Revelation 11:3And I will give [power] to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
• Acts 1:15And in those days Peter, standing up in the midst of the brethren, said, (the crowd of names [who were] together [was] about a hundred and twenty,)
• Isaiah 11:2and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
• Matthew 3:15But Jesus answering said to him, Suffer [it] now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffers him.
• John 1:32And John bore witness, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him.

Commentaries on Acts 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Cloven tongues like as of fire - The tongues were the emblem of the languages they were to speak. The cloven tongues pointed out the diversity of those languages; and the fire seemed to intimate that the whole would be a spiritual gift, and be the means of bringing light and life to the souls who should hear them preach the everlasting Gospel in those languages. Sat upon each of them - Scintillations, coruscations, or flashes of fire, were probably at…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3And there appeared unto them - There were seen by them, or they saw. The fire was first seen by them in the room before it rested in the form of tongues on the heads of the disciples. Perhaps the fire appeared at first as scintillations or coruscations, until it became fixed on their heads. Tongues - ͂ glōssaiThe word “tongue” occurs often in the Scriptures to denote the member which is the instrument of taste and speech, and also to denote “language” or…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4Jews observed three traditional annual festivals. Many people traveled to the temple in Jerusalem for these feasts (see Leviticus 23:1–44): The Feast of Unleavened Bread (which includes Passover) The Feast of Weeks (also called Pentecost or the Feast of Harvest) The Feast of Tabernacles On Pentecost, Jewish people gathered in Jerusalem to thank God for the harvest and his blessings. At the same time, the disciples of Jesus gathered together in prayer with…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-131-4. when the day of Pentecost was fully come--The fiftieth from the morrow after the first Passover sabbath (Le 23:15, 16). with one accord--the solemnity of the day, perhaps, unconsciously raising their expectations.Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 2:3

• Baptism
• Feasts
• Fire
• Holy Spirit
• Minister, Christian
• Miracles
• Orator
• Power
• Prophets
• Readings, Select
• Revivals
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Tongue
• Vision
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• Approve
• Confound
• Determinate
• Exhort
• Fire
• Gladness
• Messiah
• Miracle
• Notable
• Pentecost

Commentaries on Acts 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings