Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
Parallel Translations
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Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
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Grekes and Arabians: we have herde them speake with oure awne tonges the greate workes of God.
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Creetes, and Arabians: wee hearde them speake in our owne tongues the wonderful works of God.
Cross-references (33)
Passages linked to Acts 2:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 15:11 Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
- 1 Corinthians 12:10 and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages.
- Job 9:10 He does great things past finding out; yes, marvelous things without number.
- Psalms 26:7 that I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard and tell of all your wondrous deeds.
- Psalms 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
- Jeremiah 25:24 and all the kings of Arabia, all the kings of the mixed people who dwell in the wilderness;
- Titus 1:12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.”
- Hebrews 2:4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
- 1 Kings 10:15 in addition to that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mixed people, and of the governors of the country.
- 2 Chronicles 17:11 Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. The Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.
- 2 Chronicles 26:7 God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and the Meunim.
- Psalms 40:5 Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be counted.
- Psalms 71:17 God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.
- Psalms 77:11 I will remember Yah’s deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old.
- Psalms 89:5 The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh, your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
- Psalms 96:3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.
- Psalms 107:8 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
- Psalms 107:15 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
- Psalms 107:21 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
- Psalms 111:4 He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and merciful.
- Psalms 136:4 to him who alone does great wonders; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Isaiah 13:20 It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
- Isaiah 25:1 Yahweh, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and truth.
- Isaiah 28:29 This also comes out from Yahweh of Armies, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.
- Jeremiah 3:2 “Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.
- Daniel 4:2-3 It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked toward me. How great are his signs! How mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His dominion is from generation to generation.
- Acts 27:7 When we had sailed slowly many days, and had come with difficulty opposite Cnidus, the wind not allowing us further, we sailed under the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.
- Acts 27:12 Because the haven was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised going to sea from there, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there, which is a port of Crete, looking southwest and northwest.
- Titus 1:5 I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you,
- Isaiah 21:13 The burden on Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, you caravans of Dedanites.
- Galatians 1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.
- Galatians 4:25 For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children.
- 1 Corinthians 12:28 God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 11. The wonderful works of God. Luke noteth two…
11. The wonderful works of God. Luke noteth two things which caused the hearers to wonder; first, because the apostles being before ignorant and private persons, born in a base corner, did, notwithstanding, intreat profoundly of divine matters, and of heavenly wisdom. The other is, because they have new tongues given them suddenly. Both things are worth the noting, because to huddle out [utter] words unadvisedly and foolishly, should not so much have served to move their minds; and the majesty of the things ought the more to have moved them to consider the miracle. Although they give due honor to God, in that they are astonished and amazed, yet the principal and of the miracle is expressed in this, that they inquire, and thereby declare that they are prepared to learn; for otherwise their amazedness and wondering should not have done them any great good. And certainly we must so wonder at the works of God, that there must be also a consideration, and a desire to understand.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Cretes; such as belonged to the island of Crete,…
Cretes; such as belonged to the island of Crete, now called Candia.
The wonderful works of God; those things which God had wonderfully wrought, especially the resurrection of our blessed Saviour from the dead, which was a most wonderful work, and the main argument whereby the world was converted, and unto which the apostles bare witness.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Cretes and Arabians,.... The former are either the same…
Cretes and Arabians,.... The former are either the same with the Cretians, Tit 1:12 the inhabitants of the island of Crete, Act 27:7 now called Candia or Candy, which has on the north the Aegean sea, on the south the Libyan or African sea, on the west the Adriatic sea, and on the east the Carpathian sea. In it were an hundred cities; the most famous of which were, Gnosos, Cortyna, Lyctos, Lycastos, Holopixos, Phaestos, Cydon, Manethusa, Dyctynna (e), and others; these spoke the Greek language; yet not the Attic, for the Cretian and Attic speech are distinguished (f): or else, as Dr. Lightfoot thinks, these were the same with the Cherethim or Cherethites, in Eze 25:16 whom the Septuagint interpreters call Cretes, as here; since these are mentioned with the Philistines, to whose land Arabia joined; the inhabitants of which are next mentioned here. There were three Arabias; Arabia Petraea, which had on the west part of Egypt, and on the north Judea, and part of Syria, on the south the Red sea, and on the east Arabia Felix. The second was called Arabia Deserta, and had on the north part of Mesopotamia, and on the east Babylonia, on the south Arabia Felix, and on the west, part of Syria and Arabia Petraea. The third was called Arabia Felix, and had on the north the south sides of Petraea and Arabia Deserta, and the more southern part of the Persian gulf, on the west the gulf of Arabia, and on the south the Red sea, and on the east, part of the Persian gulf (g); and here dwelt Jews who spoke the Arabic language. Now these Jews, of different nations, declared concerning the apostles, saying,
we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God; not the works of creation and providence, though these are great and wonderful; but of redemption, pardon, atonement, justification, and salvation, by the Messiah, by his obedience, sufferings, and death, and also of his resurrection from the dead; things which struck them with amazement, and the more, that such illiterate persons should have such knowledge of them, and should be able to speak of them in such a clear, distinct, and powerful manner; and still the more, that they should speak of them in their several tongues in which they were born, and to which they were used, and which the apostles had never learned: and this they heard with their own ears, and were fully satisfied that they did speak divers languages,
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(e) Mela, l. 2. c. 14. Vid. Solin. c. 16. & Plin. l. 4. c. 12. (f) Laert. in. vit. Epimenidis. (g) Ptolom. Geograph. l. 5. c. 17, & 19. & l. 6. c. 7.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Cretans - One island seems to be mentioned for…
Cretans - One island seems to be mentioned for all. The wonderful works of God - Probably those which related to the miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, together with the effusion of his Spirit, as a fulfilment of his promises, and the glorious dispensations of Gospel grace.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. Cretes] Natives of Crete, a large and…
Verse 11. Cretes] Natives of Crete, a large and noted island in the Levant, or eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, now called Candia.
Arabians] Natives of Arabia, a well known country of Asia, having the Red Sea on the west; the Persian Gulf on the east; Judea on the north; and the Indian Ocean on the south.
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The wonderful works of God.] Such as the incarnation of Christ; his various miracles, preaching, death, resurrection, and ascension; and the design of God to save the world through him. From this one circumstance we may learn that all the people enumerated above were either Jews or proselytes; and that there was probably none that could be, strictly speaking, called heathens among them. It may at first appear strange that there could be found Jews in so many different countries, some of which were very remote from the others; but there is a passage in Philo's Embassy to Caius which throws considerable light on the subject. In a letter sent to Caius by King Agrippa, he speaks of to the holy city of Jerusalem, not merely as the metropolis of Judea, but of many other regions, because of the colonies at different times led out of Judea, not only into neighbouring countries, such as Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria, and Coelosyria, but also into those that are remote, such as Pamphylia, Cilicia, and the chief parts of Asia as far as Bithynia, and the innermost parts of Pontus; also in the regions of Europe, Thessaly, Boeotia, Macedonia, AEtolia, Attica, Argos, Corinth, and the principal parts of Peloponnesus. Not only the continents and provinces (says he) are full of Jewish colonies, but the most celebrated isles also, Euboea, Cyprus, and Crete, not to mention the countries beyond the Euphrates. All these (a small part of Babylon and some other praefectures excepted, which possess fertile territories) are inhabited by Jews. Not only my native city entreats thy clemency, but other cities also, situated in different parts of the world, Asia, Europe, Africa; both islands, sea coasts, and inland countries." PHILONIS Opera, edit. Mangey, vol. ii. p. 587.
It is worthy of remark that almost all the places and provinces mentioned by St. Luke are mentioned also in this letter of King Agrippa. These, being all Jews or proselytes, could understand in some measure the wonderful works of God, of which mere heathens could have formed no conception. It was wisely ordered that the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost should take place at this time, when so many from various nations were present to bear witness to what was done, and to be themselves subjects of his mighty working. These, on their return to their respective countries, would naturally proclaim what things they saw and heard; and by this the way of the apostles was made plain; and thus Christianity made a rapid progress over all those parts in a very short time after the resurrection of our Lord.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Cretes - Crete, now called Candia, is an island…
Cretes - Crete, now called Candia, is an island in the Mediterranean, about 200 miles in length and 50 in breadth, about 500 miles southwest of Constantinople, and about the same distance west of Syria or Palestine. The climate is mild and delightful, the sky unclouded and serene. By some this island is supposed to be the Caphtor of the Hebrews, Gen 10:14. It is mentioned in the Acts as the place touched at by Paul, Act 27:7-8, Act 27:13. This was the residence of Titus, who was left there by Paul” to set in order the things that were missing,” etc., Tit 1:5. The Cretans among the Greeks were famous for deceit and falsehood. See the notes on Tit 1:12-13. The language spoken there was probably the Greek.
Arabians - Arabia is the great peninsula which is bounded north by part of Syria, east by the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, south by the Indian Ocean, and west by the Red Sea. It is often mentioned in the Scriptures; and there were doubtless there many Jews. The language spoken there was the Arabic.
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In our tongues - The languages spoken by the apostles could not have been less than seven or eight, besides different dialects of the same languages. It is not certain that the Jews present from foreign nations spoke those languages perfectly, but they had doubtless so used them as to make them the common tongue in which they conversed. No miracle could be more decided than this. There was no way in which the apostles could impose on them, and make them suppose they spoke foreign languages, if they really did not; for these foreigners were abundantly able to determine that. It may be remarked that this miracle had most important effects besides that witnessed on the day of Pentecost. The gospel would be carried by those who were converted to all these places, and the way would be prepared for the labors of the apostles there. Accordingly, most of these places became afterward celebrated by the establishment of Christian churches and the conversion of great multitudes to the Christian faith.
The wonderful works of God - τὰ μεγαλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ ta megaleia tou Theou. The great things of God; that is, the great things that God had done in the gift of his Son; in raising him from the dead; in his miracles, ascension, etc. Compare Luk 1:49; Psa 71:19; Psa 26:7; Psa 66:3; Psa 92:5; Psa 104:24; etc.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. Wonderful works of God—When the human spirit, wherein…
11. Wonderful works of God—When the human spirit, wherein resides man’s susceptibility to the religious emotions, is breathed upon by the Divine Spirit, and awakened into ecstasy, it may call the poetic powers into action, and evolve itself in the psalm. And if the man be endowed with the gift of genius, his psalm, like those of David, may be a permanent gift of God to his Church. Even among our Aryan ancestors a few of the hymns of their Rig-Veda, or Psalm-lore, evince that there were even with them some faint breathings of the blessed Spirit. Minds less endowed, when awakened to religious devotion, rather avail themselves of the strains of their greater predecessors than succeed in producing psalms of pure and perfect originality. This present passage confirms the idea that Mary’s Magnificat (Luk_1:46) was improvised and uttered in a spiritual ecstasy. And the Magnificat may be read as furnishing some idea of the nature of these raptured Pentecostal utterances.
Besides these strains in Luke’s first chapter, the New Testament age was not inspired to furnish any permanent psalmody to the sacred canon. There is nothing in the New Testament corresponding with the Psalms in the Old. The prose narrative, epistle, and prophecy, ending in the semi-poetic Apocalypse, were all that the Church’s discerning of spirits could recognise as entitled to a place in her new Scriptures.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. Cretes] Dwellers in the well-known island which lies…
11. Cretes] Dwellers in the well-known island which lies south of the Cyclades in the Mediterranean, now called Candia. Christianity may perhaps have been spread in Crete also from the converts at Pentecost. Titus was made bishop of Crete.
Arabians] Inhabitants of the great peninsula which stretches between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
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the wonderful works] More literally, the great works of God. So (Act_10:46) of the first Gentile converts on whom the Holy Ghost came it is said, “They heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.” And of those to whom the Spirit was given at Ephesus (Act_19:6), “They spake with tongues and prophesied.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) The wonderful works of God.—Better, the great things,…
(11) The wonderful works of God.—Better, the great things, or the majesty, of God. The word is the same as in Luk_1:49. The word points, as has been said above, distinctly to words of praise and not of teaching.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Cretans for Cretes, A.V.; speaking for speak, A.V.; mighty…
Cretans for Cretes, A.V.; speaking for speak, A.V.; mighty for wonderful, A.V. (ta megaleia).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 11. Cretes. From the island of Crete. Arabians. Many…
11. Cretes. From the island of Crete. Arabians. Many Jews dwelt in the desert lands south and east of Palestine, all called generally Arabia.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain See notes on verse 6
See notes on verse 6
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain
tongues
languages.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.