Acts 2:11 (WEB)

Passage

Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”

Nearby Context

Acts 2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,

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

Acts 2:11 Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”

Acts 2:12 They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

Acts 2:13 Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cretans", "arabians", "hear", "speaking", "languages", "mighty", and "works". 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 "Phrygia Pamphylia Egypt the parts of Libya..." into verse 12's "They were all amazed and were perplexed...", 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.