Acts 2:12 (LSB)

Passage

And they all continued in astonishment and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Nearby Context

Acts 2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the district of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

Acts 2:11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”

Acts 2:12 And they all continued in astonishment and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Acts 2:13 But others, mocking, were saying, “They are full of new wine.”

Acts 2:14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "continued", "astonishment", "great", "perplexity", "saying", "another", "does", and "mean". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "continued" and "astonishment", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Cretans and Arabs we hear them in..." into verse 13's "But others mocking were saying They are...", so "continued" and "astonishment" 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 "continued" and "astonishment" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.