Acts 2:9 (WEB)

Passage

Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,

Nearby Context

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

Acts 2:8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?

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!”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "parthians", "medes", "elamites", "people", "mesopotamia", "judea", "cappadocia", and "pontus". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "parthians" and "medes", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "How do we hear everyone in our..." into verse 10's "Phrygia Pamphylia Egypt the parts of Libya...", so "parthians" and "medes" 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 "parthians" and "medes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.