The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues2:4 Or languages; also in verse 11 as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,2:9 That is, the Roman province by that name 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’
Peter addresses the crowd
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17‘ “In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.”2:21 Joel 2:28-32
22‘Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles) put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25David said about him:
‘ “I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.”2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)
29‘Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
‘ “The Lord said to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand
35until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.’ ”2:35 Psalm 110:1
36‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.’
37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’
38Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’
40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ 41Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The fellowship of the believers
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
በበዓለ አምሳ ቀን መንፈስ ቅዱስ ወረደ
1የበዓለ አምሳ ቀን በደረሰ ጊዜ ሁሉም በአንድነት፣ በአንድ ስፍራ ተሰብስበው ነበር። 2ድንገትም እንደ ብርቱ ዐውሎ ነፋስ ያለ ድምፅ ከሰማይ መጥቶ ተቀምጠው የነበሩበትን ቤት እንዳለ ሞላው። 3የእሳት ምላሶች የሚመስሉም ታዩአቸው፤ ተከፋፍለውም በእያንዳንዳቸው ላይ ዐረፉ። 4ሁሉም በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ተሞሉ፤ መንፈስም እንዲናገሩ በሰጣቸው መጠን በሌሎች ቋንቋዎች2፥4 ወይም ልሳኖች እንዲሁም በ11 ይናገሩ ጀመር።
5በዚህ ጊዜ ከሰማይ በታች ካለው ሕዝብ ሁሉ የመጡና እግዚአብሔርን የሚፈሩ አይሁድ በኢየሩሳሌም ነበሩ። 6ይህን ድምፅ ሲሰሙ፣ ብዙ ሕዝብ በአንድነት ተሰበሰቡ፤ እያንዳንዱም ሰው፣ ሰዎቹ በገዛ ቋንቋው ሲናገሩ በመስማቱ ግራ ተጋባ፤ 7በመገረምና በመደነቅም እንዲህ አሉ፤ “እነዚህ የሚነጋገሩት ሁሉ የገሊላ ሰዎች አይደሉምን? 8ታዲያ፣ እያንዳንዳችን በተወለድንበት፣ በራሳችን ቋንቋ ሲናገሩ የምንሰማቸው እንዴት ቢሆን ነው? 9እኛ የጳርቴና፣ የሜድ፣ የኢላሜጤም ሰዎች፣ በመስጴጦምያ፣ በይሁዳ፣ በቀጰዶቅያ፣ በጳንጦስ፣ በእስያ፣ 10በፍርግያ፣ በጵንፍልያ፣ በግብፅ፣ በቀሬና አጠገብ ባሉት በሊቢያ አውራጃዎች የምንኖር፣ ከሮም የመጣን 11አይሁድና ወደ ይሁዲነት የገባን፣ የቀርጤስና የዐረብ ሰዎች ስንሆን፣ ሰዎቹ የእግዚአብሔርን ታላቅ ሥራ በየቋንቋችን ሲናገሩ እንሰማቸዋለን!” 12ሁሉም በአድናቆትና ግራ በመጋባት፣ “ይህ ነገር ምን ይሆን?” ተባባሉ።
13አንዳንዶቹ ደግሞ “ያልፈላ ብዙ የወይን ጠጅ2፥13 ወይም ጣፋጭ ወይን ጠጥተዋል” በማለት አፌዙባቸው።
ጴጥሮስ ለሕዝቡ ንግግር አደረገ
14በዚህ ጊዜ ጴጥሮስ ከዐሥራ አንዱ ጋር ተነሥቶ ቆመ፤ ድምፁንም ከፍ አድርጎ እንዲህ ሲል ለሕዝቡ ተናገረ፤ “እናንት የይሁዳ ሰዎች፤ በኢየሩሳሌምም የምትኖሩ ሁሉ፤ ይህን አንድ ነገር ዕወቁ፤ በጥሞናም አድምጡ። 15ጊዜው ገና ከጧቱ ሦስት ሰዓት ስለሆነ፣ እናንተ እንደምታስቡት እነዚህ ሰዎች አልሰከሩም። 16ነገር ግን ይህ በነቢዩ በኢዩኤል እንዲህ ተብሎ የተነገረ ነው፤
17“እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤ ‘በመጨረሻው ቀን፣
መንፈሴን በሥጋ ለባሽ ሁሉ ላይ አፈስሳለሁ፤
ወንዶችና ሴቶች ልጆቻችሁ ትንቢት ይናገራሉ፤
ጕልማሶቻችሁ ራእይ ያያሉ፤
ሽማግሌዎቻችሁ ሕልም ያልማሉ።
18በዚያ ጊዜ በወንዶችና በሴቶች አገልጋዮቼ ላይ፣
መንፈሴን አፈስሳለሁ፤
እነርሱም ትንቢት ይናገራሉ።
19በላይ በሰማያት ድንቅ ነገሮችን፣
አሳያለሁ፤ በታች በምድርም ምልክቶችን እሰጣለሁ፤
ደምና እሳት፣ የጢስም ጭጋግ ይሆናል።
20ታላቅና ክቡር የሆነው የጌታ ቀን ከመምጣቱ በፊት፣
ፀሓይ ወደ ጨለማ፣
ጨረቃም ወደ ደም ይለወጣሉ።
21የጌታን ስም፣
የሚጠራ ሁሉ ይድናል።’
22“የእስራኤል ሰዎች ሆይ፤ ይህን ቃል ስሙ፤ እናንት ራሳችሁ እንደምታውቁት፣ እግዚአብሔር በመካከላችሁ ታምራትን፣ ድንቅ ነገሮችንና ምልክቶችን በእርሱ በኩል በማድረግ ለናዝሬቱ ኢየሱስ መስክሮለታል። 23እግዚአብሔር በጥንት ውሳኔውና በቀደመው ዕውቀቱ ይህን ሰው አሳልፎ በእጃችሁ ሰጣችሁ፤ እናንተም በክፉ ሰዎች2፥23 ወይም ሕግ በሌላቸው ሰዎች (አሕዛብን ያመለክታል) እጅ ሰቅላችሁ ገደላችሁት። 24እግዚአብሔር ግን የሞትን ጣር አስወግዶ አስነሣው፤ ሞት ይዞ ሊያስቀረው አልቻለምና። 25ዳዊትም ስለ እርሱ እንዲህ ይላል፤
“ ‘ጌታን ሁልጊዜ በፊቴ አየዋለሁ፤
እርሱ በቀኜ ነውና፣
ከቶ አልታወክም።
26ስለዚህ ልቤ ደስ አለው፤ አንደበቴም ሐሤት አደረገ፤
ሥጋዬም በተስፋ ይኖራል።
27ነፍሴን በሲኦል አትተዋትምና፤
ቅዱስህም መበስበስን እንዲያይ አታደርግም።
28የሕይወትን መንገድ እንዳውቅ አደረግኸኝ፤
በፊትህም በሐሤት ትሞላኛለህ።’
29“ወንድሞች ሆይ፤ ከቀደምት አባቶች ዳዊት ሞቶ እንደ ተቀበረ፣ መቃብሩም እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ በመካከላችን እንደሚገኝ በድፍረት መናገር እችላለሁ። 30ነቢይ በመሆኑም፣ እግዚአብሔር ከዘሮቹ አንዱን በዙፋኑ ላይ እንደሚያስቀምጥ በመሐላ ቃል የገባለት መሆኑን ዐወቀ። 31ይህን አስቀድሞ በማየቱ እርሱ በሲኦል እንደማይቀርና ሥጋውም እንደማይበሰብስ ስለ ክርስቶስ2፥31 ወይም መሲሕ፤ በግሪኩ ክርስቶስ፣ በዕብራይስጡ መሲሕ የሁለቱም ቃላት ትርጕም የተቀባው ማለት ነው፤ እንዲሁም በ36 ትንሣኤ ተናገረ። 32ይህን ኢየሱስ፣ እግዚአብሔር ከሞት አስነሣው፤ እኛም ሁላችን ለዚህ ነገር ምስክሮች ነን። 33ስለዚህ በእግዚአብሔር ቀኝ ከፍ ከፍ ካለ በኋላ፣ የመንፈስ ቅዱስን ተስፋ ከአብ ተቀብሎ አሁን የምታዩትንና የምትሰሙትን አፈሰሰው። 34ዳዊት ወደ ሰማያት አልወጣም፤ እርሱ ራሱ ግን እንዲህ ብሏል፤
“ ‘ጌታ ጌታዬን፣
35“ጠላቶችህን ለእግርህ መረገጫ፣
እስከማደርግልህ ድረስ፣
በቀኜ ተቀመጥ” አለው።’
36“እንግዲህ፣ እግዚአብሔር ይህን እናንተ የሰቀላችሁትን ኢየሱስን፣ ጌታም ክርስቶስም እንዳደረገው የእስራኤል ወገን ሁሉ ይረዳ!”
37ሕዝቡም ይህን በሰሙ ጊዜ ልባቸው እጅግ ተነካ፤ ጴጥሮስንና ሌሎቹንም ሐዋርያት፣ “ወንድሞች ሆይ፤ ታዲያ ምን እናድርግ?” አሏቸው።
38ጴጥሮስም እንዲህ አላቸው፤ “ንስሓ ግቡ፤ ኀጢአታችሁም እንዲሰረይላችሁ፣ እያንዳንዳችሁ በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ስም ተጠመቁ፤ የመንፈስ ቅዱስንም ስጦታ ትቀበላላችሁ። 39የተስፋው ቃል ለእናንተና ለልጆቻችሁ እንዲሁም ጌታ አምላካችን ወደ ራሱ ለሚጠራቸው፣ በሩቅ ላሉትም ሁሉ ነውና።”
40በሌላ ብዙ ቃል እየመሰከረላቸው፣ “ከዚህ ጠማማ ትውልድ ራሳችሁን አድኑ” በማለት አስጠነቀቃቸው። 41ቃሉን የተቀበሉትም ተጠመቁ፤ በዚያ ቀን ሦስት ሺሕ ያህል ሰዎች በቍጥራቸው ላይ ተጨመሩ።
የአማኞች የኅብረት ኑሮ
42እነርሱም በሐዋርያት ትምህርትና በኅብረት፣ እንጀራውንም በመቍረስና በጸሎት ይተጉ ነበር። 43በሐዋርያት እጅ ብዙ ድንቅና ታምራት ይደረግ ስለ ነበር፣ ሰው ሁሉ ፍርሀት ዐደረበት። 44ያመኑት ሁሉ በአንድነት ነበሩ፤ ያላቸውንም ሁሉ የጋራ አደረጉ። 45ሀብታቸውንና ንብረታቸውንም እየሸጡ ለእያንዳንዱ ሰው የሚያስፈልገውን ያህል ይሰጡት ነበር። 46በየዕለቱ በቤተ መቅደስ በአንድነት እየተገናኙ፣ በቤታቸውም እንጀራ እየቈረሱ በደስታና በቀና ልብ ይመገቡ ነበር፤ 47እግዚአብሔርንም እያመሰገኑ፣ በሕዝቡ ሁሉ ፊት ሞገስ ነበራቸው፤ ጌታም የሚድኑትን በቍጥራቸው ላይ ዕለት በዕለት ይጨምር ነበር።
