Acts 2:5 (WEB)

Passage

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.

Nearby Context

Acts 2:3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.

Acts 2:4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.

Acts 2:5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.

Acts 2:6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.

Acts 2:7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dwelling", "jerusalem", "jews", "devout", "nation", and "under". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "dwelling" and "jerusalem", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "They were all filled with the Holy..." into verse 6's "When this sound was heard the multitude...", so "dwelling" and "jerusalem" 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 "dwelling" and "jerusalem" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.