Acts 2:5 (KJV)

Passage

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Nearby Context

Acts 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Acts 2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Acts 2:7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dwelling", "jerusalem", "jews", "devout", "nation", "under", and "heaven". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "dwelling" and "jerusalem", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And they were all filled with the..." into verse 6's "Now when this was noised abroad the...", so "dwelling" and "jerusalem" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "dwelling" and "jerusalem" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.