What Does Acts 2:14 Mean?
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, Men of Judaea, and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and lend your ear to my words.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:THE KEY
The Greek verb behind Peter “standing up” also means to rise, anticipating his later words that God “raised up” Jesus.
THE MEANING
Peter rises and speaks where a crowd can hear him, and the verse places the words themselves at the center of the moment. It addresses you as someone who can move from noticing a voice to receiving what it says.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A raised voice or a striking scene does not by itself mean the message has been received; the words still have to be heard.
THE ROOT
ἀναστάς
anastas
GROWS FROM
ἵστημι
histēmi
stand, set in place
“standing up” in this verse is anastas. English gives you a posture; Greek also carries the sense of rising. Peter’s standing here is ordinary standing, yet the same verb family appears later in his sermon when he says God raised Jesus.
ALSO GROWS
anistēmi: stand up, rise
ἀνίστημι
This verb family describes Peter standing here and God raising Jesus in Acts 2:24, linking the two moments through the language of rising.
anastasis: rising, resurrection
ἀνάστασις
This related noun names resurrection, the central claim toward which Peter’s speech moves.
ἀκούσατε
akousate
GROWS FROM
ἀκου-
akou-
hear, listen, attend
“lend your ear” in this verse is akousate. Peter’s imperative asks for attentive hearing, not merely for the sound of his voice to reach the crowd. The Greek word family also connects hearing with both a report received and listening that leads to obedience.
ALSO GROWS
akoē: hearing, report
ἀκοή
Romans 10:17 uses this word family for hearing through which a message is received.
hypakouō: listen to, obey
ὑπακούω
This related verb joins listening with response, revealing a connection between hearing a word and answering it.
THE PATTERN
Hearing becomes meaningful when a word is received as something that can be followed, not merely as sound.
Hear and respond, therefore, O Israel, and guard to do it, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you, in the land that flows with milk and honey.My sheep hear and respond to my voice, and I perceive them, and they follow me.But be makers of the word, and not hearers only, miscounting yourselves.THE THREAD
God raised him up, having loosed the labor pangs of death, for it was not possible for him to be held by it.“Standing up” here and “raised up” in this verse come from ἀνίστημι (anistēmi, stand up or rise). The same verb family moves from Peter rising to speak to Jesus being raised from death, the central claim of the speech.
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