6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

festivities. Being present at the Passover, and desiring also to attend the Pentecost, they had taken up a temporary residence in the city; or having accumulated sufficient property, had returned to the Holy City to spend the remnant of their days. The sacredness of the place; for Jerusalem was the city that almighty God himself had designated as the seat of his worship-the services of the temple -the great and solemn feasts-and the prevailing expectation that the promised Messiah was about to appear, and would, of course, show himself in his temple-all combined to attract thousands, whose circumstances permitted it, to the city on these interesting occasions, and to render it a place ardently loved as a scene of residence. Devout men] Upright, faithful Jews, attending to all the precepts of the ceremonial law, pious, and exemplary in their lives; Jews who, like Simeon, were waiting for the consolation of Israel, only delaying to have clear and decisive evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah, to unite themselves with his followers. Out of every nation under heaven] This is to be understood as a general expression, conveying an idea of the almost universal distribution of the Jewish people, throughout the nations of the earth, and the very large attendance upon this feast. It was calculated, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened at the passover, that there were about three millions of Jews within the walls of the city. At the time of the sacking of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, thousands were carried into captivity in the East, but a very small number of whom ever returned again. The rest remained in Assyria, and spread themselves throughout all the continent of Asia, so that there is scarcely a country in Asia, to this day, where the Jew, or evidences of his former presence are not to be found. The disturbances continually happening in Palestine after the return of a portion of the Jews, drove off others into Egypt, and the cities of the Roman and Grecian empires, so that when all the different bodies were represented at the great feasts, (and wherever the Jew wandered, he remembered Jerusalem and the passover,) it might with much propriety be said, that they were "out of every nation under heaven."

6. Now when this was noised abroad] The words in the original will admit of being thus translated:-"Now this sound or noise having been made." Referring to the sound as of a mighty rushing wind, which might have been heard generally in the city, or in the vicinity

7 And they were all amazed, and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak, Galileans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in

of the temple, which would have attracted the attention of the multitude, while the loud and unusually zealous addresses of the disciples would have called observation to the upper room, where they were worshiping. Or, it might be, that the report had soon spread through the city of the astonishing miracle of tongues with which the disciples had just been endowed, and this would immediately have drawn the excited crowds together. Were confounded] Overwhelmed -perplexed-astounded. It was an occurrence that they could not understand—a most unheard-of and unaccountable affair. Every man heard them speak in his own language] The multitude was composed of foreign Jews of almost every nation and tongue, and yet each one heard these Galilean Jews speak to him in his own native dialect. "We may naturally suppose that as soon as any person presented himself to one of these disciples, he, the disciple, was immediately enabled to address him in his own language, however various this had been from the Jewish or Galilean dialects."CLARKE.

.

7. And they were all amazed and marveled] They were surprised beyond measure, and wondered within themselves what all these things meant. Behold, are not all these which speak, Galileans?] Most of the disciples were from Galilee, the most northern province of the Holy Land. The term is not here used, as it is sometimes, by way of reproach, but as matter of surprise, that natives of Galilee should so correctly and freely speak the languages of distant and foreign nations.

8. How hear we every man, &c.] How is it possible, if these are Galileans, each of us speaking different tongues, that we hear them speak as if they were of the same nation? These things are surprising in the extreme. In our own tongue, wherein we were born?] In our mother tongue-the first language we learned, the dialect spoken in our native land.

9. Some have supposed that the enumeration of countries in verses 9-11 is given by St. Luke, the historian, to exhibit the amazing greatness of the miracle, and is not the language of the multitude, and that they should be thrown into a parenthesis. There is, however, no improbability in supposing that the crowd, surprised, numbered over to each other the various dialects that they heard the

Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

"The list

disciples speak as so many additional causes of wonder. of names is so constructed as to lead a reader from east to west, and from north to south, or rather from a north-easterly point to the west and south. Beginning at Parthia, on the east, we are led to Pamphylia, one of the southern provinces of Asia Minor, thence, in a southern direction, to Egypt. From Egypt, the eye is turned in a western and north-western direction to Cyrene and Rome. The list concludes by bringing into one view two regions widely distant, and in a direction from west to east, namely, the Island of Crete, and the country of Arabia. In all these widely-distant countries and provinces, Jews were found in great numbers."-RIPLEY. Parthians] Parthia, from which came these Parthian Jews, was situated on the south of the Caspian Sea, east of Media and Persia. Medes] Media was also on the south of the Caspian, having the province of Parthia on the east, Armenia and Assyria on the west, and Persia on the south. Into the country of the Medes, the ten tribes, composing the kingdom of Israel, were transplanted in the Assyrian captivity by Tiglathpileser and Shalmaneser. 1 Chron. v, 26; 2 Kings xvii, 6. Elamites] Elam, the eldest son of Shem, (Gen. x, 22,) settled in a country to the south of Media, and called it after his own name-Elam. Properly speaking, however, Elam denotes Elymais, a district of Persia, and it is sometimes applied to the whole of this empire by the prophets. The dwellers in Mesopotamia] Jews who resided in Mesopotamia-a country situated between the Tigris and Euphrates, sometimes called in Scripture, Padan-aram—an extremely fertile province, now called Diarbeker. It was the home of Abraham before he journeyed into Canaan. In Judea] This simple term has been a matter of no small discussion among commentators. It has been supposed by some that allusion would not have been made to Judea, where they then were, in connection with these foreign lands. Some have thought it an adjective connected with Mesopotamia, dis. tinguishing the portion where the Jews resided by the title, Jewish Mesopotamia; others, that the word has been changed by mistake from India or Lydia, or some similar name. It seems, however, to be a fruitless expense of time and learning. The original text is plain and forcible enough. How natural, while mentioning other and various tongues which the disciples spake, to notice the Judean, differing from them all, and even differing somewhat from their own native Galilean! Or, perhaps, they mentioned the varied tongues, as the disciples addressed the different hearers-now addressing a

10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

Parthian, then a Mede, and a Mesopotamian, in their peculiar dialect, and then turning to a Jew, addressing him in his own pure idiom. Dr. Bloomfield, however, in his valuable critical Commentary, strenuously asserts the corruption of the text, and supposes it to have been changed from Idumæa, the Greek name for the two countries being very similar. Cappadocia, Pontus] These were provinces of Asia Minor, Pontus bordering upon the Black Sea, and Cappadocia being south of Pontus. In Asia] All the countries that have been mentioned were in Asia Proper; but the term is often used in a more restricted sense, signifying the western portion of the continent, lying between the Black Sea, upon the north, and the Mediterranean, on the south, extending west to the Euphrates and Mount Taurus. This is called Asia Minor, or Asia the less, and was the scene of extensive labors on the part of the apostles. The term Asia is also still further limited, sometimes, to the region of Ionia, bordering on the Egean Sea, and including also Phrygia, Mysia, Lydia, and Caria, of which Ephesus was the capital. This was called Pronconsular Asia, being under the government of a Roman officer, who bore the title of proconsul.

10. Phrygia, and Pamphylia] Phrygia is a large central division of Asia Minor, where were the cities Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Laodicea, and Colosse, so familiar to the readers of Paul's Epistles. Pamphylia was south of Phrygia, bordering on the Mediterranean. Egypt] Vast numbers of Jews had settled in Egypt, so that it is said they formed two-fifths of the inhabitants of the great city of Alexandria. Egypt is a country of Africa, situated in the northeastern part, having the Mediterranean upon the north, Ethiopia on the south, the Red Sea on the east, and Libya and the Great Desert upon the west; it occupies the narrow valley of the Nile, extending six hundred miles in length, and about one hundred and twenty miles in breadth. In the parts of Libya] A province of Africa, west of Egypt, and bordering upon the Mediterranean on the north and the Great Desert on the south. Cyrene was a city of Libya, situated on the Mediterranean, in the north-western part. Strangers of Rome] Jews who were born and resided in Rome, who were comparative strangers in Jerusalem. Jews and proselytes] Both those who were Jews by descent and those who had been converted to the Jewish belief, and circumcised, from among the heathen or Gentile nations.

11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13 Others mocking, said, These men are full of new wine.

11. Cretes] Inhabitants of the Island of Crete in the Mediterranean. Arabians] Arabia was a vast country on the south of Palestine, having the Red Sea on the west, the Indian Ocean on the south, and the Persian Gulf on the east. The wonderful works of God] Or, as it may be translated, the great things of God. The disciples used this remarkable gift of tongues, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, in setting forth the great plan of salvation, which almighty God had provided in the death of his Son, and the great power of God exhibited in his miracles, his death, his resurrection, and ascension into glory. Being either Jews or proselytes, and acquainted with the prophecies, they could understand the apostles, in these matters, of which a mere heathen would have had no conception.

12. Were in doubt] They were so much amazed as to be unable to form an opinion of the matter. They began to question each other, as would be natural, about the subject: "What meaneth this ?"

13. Others mocking] Many of those who had assembled on this occasion were devout and grave men, of a teachable spirit; but with them, as in every rabble, were hasty and impetuous spirits, perhaps the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who detested and reviled the sect whose leader they had crucified-these, unawed by the stupendous miracle, or to drive away the convictions of their minds, cried out against them, and strove to excite derogatory suspicions. These men are full of new wine] By this, not newly-made wine is meant, but wine that has preserved its freshness and sweetness. Pentecost occurred in June, while the first vintage was not gathered until August. But the term used, corresponds with the expression sweet wine. The ancients had various ways of preserving this quality in their wines, and these wines became highly intoxicating. It tasted like musk, and was sometimes preserved by being kept in a cool situation. It was highly esteemed by the ancients as a morning draught. On this thanksgiving feast wine would have been used by the Jews; and they throw out the suspicion that these Galileans had made too free with their cups.

It is not rare that religious interest is attributed to such low and unworthy causes. The Christian is not of the world; his emotions and affections they cannot understand-he is to them as a madman or an impostor; but "wisdom is justified of her children." It seems