Acts 2:5 (LSB)

Passage

Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

Nearby Context

Acts 2:3 And there appeared to them tongues like fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.

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

Acts 2:5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

Acts 2:6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.

Acts 2:7 So they were astounded and marveling, saying, “Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jews", "living", "jerusalem", "devout", "nation", "under", and "heaven". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jews" and "living", 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 "And when this sound occurred the multitude...", so "jews" and "living" 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 "jews" and "living" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.