Acts 2:39 (DRB)

Passage

For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call.

Nearby Context

Acts 2:37 Now when they had heard these things, they had compunction in their heart and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles: What shall we do, men and brethren?

Acts 2:38 But Peter said to them: Do penance: and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:39 For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, whomsoever the Lord our God shall call.

Acts 2:40 And with very many other words did he testify and exhort them, saying: Save yourselves from this perverse generation.

Acts 2:41 They therefore that received his word were baptized: and there were added in that day about three thousand souls.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "promise", "children", "whomsoever", "lord", "shall", and "call". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "promise" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "But Peter said to them Do penance..." into verse 40's "And with very many other words did...", so "promise" and "children" 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 "promise" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.