Acts 2:39

This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Peter addresses the assembled crowd at Pentecost, immediately after commanding repentance and baptism (v. 38). He is defining the scope of what that command opens onto.

The words — ἐπαγγελία (epangelia) is the noun that governs the whole sentence: the promise is the subject, and everything after "to you" specifies its recipients. ὑμῖν (humin), the dative "to you," puts the hearers first in the distribution.

The thread — The promise to "your children" echoes the covenant language of Genesis 17:7 and the Spirit poured on descendants in Isaiah 44:3. The clause "all whom the Lord our God will call" ties the scope to divine initiative, as in Romans 8:30.

Why it lands — The verse does not say "to all who want it"; it says "to all whom the Lord will call," which places the reader either inside that calling or outside it. The question it forces is not whether the promise exists but whether the reader is among those called.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Cross-references

Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
Romans 8:30 And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
Genesis 17:7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Joel 2:32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.
Acts 15:8 And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.
Ephesians 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
Revelation 19:9 Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Isaiah 54:13 Then all your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their prosperity.
Romans 11:29 For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.