Acts 2:8
What does Acts 2:8 mean?
A plain-English look at Acts 2:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Acts 2:8 means
The crowd's question emphasizes the truly extraordinary nature of the event: how was it possible for these ordinary Galilaeans to speak in so many different native tongues? This rhetorical question underscores their profound wonder and the absence of a natural explanation for what they were witnessing. It serves to highlight the divine intervention at play, as human learning could not account for such instantaneous multilingualism among this group.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born?
KJV
King James Version · 1611And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And how is it that every one of us is hearing their words in the language which was ours from our birth?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and how do we hear, each in our proper dialect, in which we were born?
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890and how do we hear [them] each in our own dialect in which we have been born,
Context
Building on the crowd's recognition of the speakers as Galilaeans in the previous verse, this verse articulates their deeper perplexity: how could people from one region speak so many diverse native languages? This question further emphasizes the miraculous nature of the event, preparing the reader for a comprehensive list of the represented nations that follows.
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