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

1When the day of Shavuot had come, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And tongues like fire spreading out appeared to them and settled on each one of them. 4They were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them to speak out. 5Now Jewish people were staying in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

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 2:4They were all filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh and began to speak in other tongues as the Ruach enabled them to speak out.
• Genesis 11:6Adonai said, “Look, the people are one and all of them have the same language. So this is what they have begun to do. Now, nothing they plan to do will be impossible.
• Psalms 55:9I would hurry to my shelter from the rushing wind of the storm.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:10to another workings of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
• Revelation 14:6And then I saw another angel flying high in the sky, having a timeless message of good news to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.
• Isaiah 6:5Then I said: “Oy to me! For I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I am dwelling among a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!”
• Jeremiah 23:29“Is not My word like fire?” says Adonai, “or like a hammer that shatters rock?
• Malachi 3:2But who can endure the day of His coming? Or who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, and like soap for cleaning raw wool.
• Matthew 3:11“As for me, I immerse you in water for repentance. But the One coming after me is mightier than I am; I am not worthy to carry His sandals. He will immerse you in the Ruach ha-Kodesh and fire.
• Luke 24:32They said to one another, “Didn’t our heart burn within us while He was speaking with us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
• James 3:6And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is a world of evil placed among our body parts. It pollutes the whole body and sets on fire the course of life—and is set on fire by Gehenna.
• Revelation 11:3And I will grant authority to My two witnesses and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”
• Acts 1:15In those days, Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (the number of names all together was about a hundred and twenty) and said,
• Isaiah 11:2The Ruach of Adonai will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and insight, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Adonai.
• Matthew 3:15But Yeshua responded, “Let it happen now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” So John yielded to Him.
• John 1:32Then John testified, “I have seen the Ruach coming down like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on 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