Limitless Word
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
Acts 2:15 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
  • BSB These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!
  • NKJV For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
  • NASB For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day;
  • NLT These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Peter denies the drunkenness charge, noting it is only nine in the morning. It clears away the mockery to make room for the truth.

Overview

Peter answers the accusation plainly, since drunkenness at that early hour was implausible. By removing the false explanation, he prepares to give the true one from prophecy. This shows the preacher engaging objections to point hearers to God's word.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • 1 Th 5:5–8Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
  • 1 Sam 1:15And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.
  • Matt 20:3And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 2:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 2:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.