Acts 2:4 (YLT)

Passage

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, according as the Spirit was giving them to declare.

Nearby Context

Acts 2:2 and there came suddenly out of the heaven a sound as of a bearing violent breath, and it filled all the house where they were sitting,

Acts 2:3 and there appeared to them divided tongues, as it were of fire; it sat also upon each one of them,

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

Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation of those under the heaven,

Acts 2:6 and the rumour of this having come, the multitude came together, and was confounded, because they were each one hearing them speaking in his proper dialect,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "filled", "holy", "began", "speak", "other", and "tongues". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "filled", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "and there appeared to them divided tongues..." into verse 5's "And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews...", so "Spirit" and "filled" 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 "Spirit" and "filled" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.