Acts 2:8 (ASV)

Passage

And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born?

Nearby Context

Acts 2:6 And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language.

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

Acts 2:8 And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born?

Acts 2:9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,

Acts 2:10 in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hear", "language", "wherein", and "born". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hear" and "language", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And they were all amazed and marvelled..." into verse 9's "Parthians and Medes and Elamites and the...", so "hear" and "language" 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 "hear" and "language" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.