“And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?”
The full verse · Acts 2:8 · KJV
man in , we were ?
Asked by
Crowd: the multitude of Jews, "devout men, out of every nation under heaven," dwelling at Jerusalem, who came together at the sound on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:5-6)
Asked to
Crowd: the same multitude, still speaking among themselves in amazement (Acts 2:7-8)
The Scene
On the day of Pentecost the crowd, gathered from every nation, has just noticed that the men speaking are all Galileans (Acts 2:5-7).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe first question asked who was speaking; this one asks how. Each listener heard the apostles "in our own tongue, wherein we were born." Barnes explains the phrase: "in our native language; what is spoken where we were born." Gill says that every one of them heard one or another of the apostles speak in the same language in which he was born. The crowd then lists the places they came from and says, "we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:9-11). They had no natural explanation, and their question says so.
The Response
What Scripture recordsAt first the question has no answer: the crowd is "all amazed, and were in doubt" (Acts 2:12). Then Peter gives the answer. This is what God promised through Joel: "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh" (Acts 2:16-17). And the risen Jesus is the one who sent it: "having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear" (Acts 2:33).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Tongue" here translates the Greek dialektos, which the interlinear glosses as "language." The listeners did not hear a single new language. Each heard his own, the one "wherein we were born."
The list that follows reaches from Parthia and Mesopotamia in the east to Rome in the west, and from Pontus to Egypt, Libya, Crete, and Arabia (Acts 2:9-11). It includes "Jews and proselytes" (Acts 2:10), so the crowd was made up of Jews and of converts to the Jewish faith, all then at Jerusalem (Acts 2:5, 10).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question shows God reaching people where they are. He did not make the crowd learn the apostles' language. He let each one hear "the wonderful works of God" in his own (Acts 2:11). Matthew Henry connects this with Babel, where the LORD confounded the language of all the earth (Genesis 11:7-9): "The difference in languages which arose at Babel, has much hindered the spread of knowledge and religion." At Pentecost God crossed that barrier on a single day.
Henry adds that the first messengers of the gospel could have made no progress without this gift, "which proved that their authority was from God." The question "how?" is answered in the end not by the apostles' skill but by the Spirit that the exalted Jesus poured out (Acts 2:33).
Look Closer
What exactly did each listener hear?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You let every listener hear Your wonderful works in his own tongue; how do You want me to speak of Your works so the people around me can understand?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What does it tell you about God that He let each person hear in "our own tongue, wherein we were born"?
- Tell about a time when someone explained God's works in a way that finally made sense to you.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
God speaks in a language people can understand. At Pentecost He did not ask the nations to come up to the apostles' level. He came to them, each in his own tongue.
That can shape how you talk about God. The goal is not to impress people but to help them hear "the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11) in words that reach them. It can also comfort you: God knows your language, your history, the place "wherein we were born," and He is able to speak to you there.
This doesn't mean wonder is the end of the story. The crowd was amazed, but they still needed Peter's explanation and the call to respond (Acts 2:12-16, 37-38). Wonder opens the door; the message of Jesus walks through it.
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