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

1Then the day of the Pentecost festival arrived. All the believers were meeting together in one place. 2Suddenly, as they were sitting together, they heard a noise. The noise came from the sky and it filled the whole house. It was like the sound of a strong wind. Then they saw something that looked like many small fires. The separate fires moved and went to sit on each person there. 4All the believers became full with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned. They spoke whatever language the Holy Spirit helped them to speak. 5At that time, Jews who came from many different countries in the world were staying in Jerusalem. They were Jews who carefully obeyed God's Law.

Acts 2:3 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• there appearedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• clovenδιαμερίζωdiamerizō · to divideG1266
• tonguesγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• like asὡσείhōsei · like/as/aboutG5616
• of fireπῦρpur · fireG4442
• andτεte · and/bothG5037
• it satκαθίζωkathizō · to seatG2523
• uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• eachἕκαστοςhekastos · eachG1538
• ·εἷςheis · oneG1520

Cross-references for Acts 2:3

• Acts 2:4All the believers became full with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned. They spoke whatever language the Holy Spirit helped them to speak.
• Genesis 11:6The Lord said, ‘Because they all speak the same language, they are able to do this. If they can do this together, they may decide to do whatever they want.
• Psalms 55:9My Lord, make my enemies confused! Stop them from doing what they want to do. Everywhere that I look in the city, I see that they do cruel things to attack people.
• 1 Corinthians 12:10The same Spirit gives other people power to do miracles. Other people can speak messages from God. Some people can recognize whether spirits are good or bad. Some people can speak in different kinds of languages. And other people can explain what those languages mean.
• Revelation 14:6Then I saw another angel who was flying high in the sky above me. He brought God's message of good news that is always true. He came to tell this news to everyone who lives on the earth. He would tell it to people from every nation, from every tribe and from every language.
• Isaiah 6:5Then I said, ‘It is bad for me! My life is at an end! I have lips that are unclean. I live among people with lips that are unclean. With my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’
• Jeremiah 23:29A message from me is like a fire that burns things. It is like a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Malachi 3:2‘But when he comes, he will be like a hot fire that makes metal pure. He will be like strong soap that makes clothes completely clean. Nobody will be able to stand in front of him when he appears. On that day, nobody will remain the same.
• Matthew 3:11I baptize you with water. This shows that you want to change the way that you live. But another person will come soon. He is greater than I am. I am not good enough even to carry his shoes for him. This other person will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
• Luke 24:32They said to each other, ‘When he talked to us, it was like a fire that was burning inside us. We felt it while we were walking along the road. We also felt it when he was explaining God's message in the Bible.’
• James 3:6A person's tongue is like a fire. It has the power of everything in the world that is wrong. It is a small part of the body but it can spoil the whole person. Like a fire, it can destroy all of a person's life. It is a fire that comes from the fire of hell itself.
• Revelation 11:3I will give authority to my two servants who speak my message clearly. They will tell people my messages for 1,260 days. They will wear rough clothes made from goats' hair.’
• Acts 1:15One day, about 120 people who believed in Jesus were meeting together. Peter stood up and he said to them,
• Isaiah 11:2The Spirit of the Lord will be with him. The Spirit will make him wise, so that he understands things. The Spirit will show him what is right, and he will have the power to do it. The Spirit will cause him to know the Lord and to serve him truly.
• Matthew 3:15Jesus replied, ‘This time, do what I ask you to do. We must do everything correctly, as God wants it.’ So John did what Jesus asked him to do.
• John 1:32Then John told them, ‘I saw God's Spirit come down from heaven. He came down like a dove and he stayed on Jesus.

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