Acts 2:12 (WEB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.”

Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Cretans and Arabians we hear them speaking..." into verse 13's "Others mocking said They are filled with...", so "amazed" and "perplexed" 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 "amazed" and "perplexed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.