Acts 2:11 (DBY)

Passage

Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our own tongues the great things of God?

Nearby Context

Acts 2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, and Judaea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Acts 2:10 both Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya which adjoin Cyrene, and the Romans sojourning [here], both Jews and proselytes,

Acts 2:11 Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our own tongues the great things of God?

Acts 2:12 And they were all amazed and in perplexity, saying one to another, What would this mean?

Acts 2:13 But others mocking said, They are full of new wine.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cretans", "arabians", "hear", "speaking", "tongues", "great", and "things". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cretans" and "arabians", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "both Phrygia and Pamphylia Egypt and the..." into verse 12's "And they were all amazed and in...", so "cretans" and "arabians" 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 "cretans" and "arabians" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.