Acts 2:15

Acts 2:15, in plain English

Peter immediately addresses the mockery about drunkenness by pointing out it was only 9 in the morning — an obvious time when people wouldn't be intoxicated.

Why it's here

Peter doesn't get defensive or angry at the accusation. He simply points out the logical absurdity. It was the third hour of the day in Jewish reckoning, far too early for anyone to be drunk. This shows Peter's confidence and clarity. He knows what he's about to explain will make sense of everything they've witnessed.

Who's speaking

Peter, addressing the crowd

Where it sits in the story

Peter's reasonableness here makes his explanation more credible. He's not attacking the mockers; he's inviting everyone to think clearly about what they've actually seen.

The scholarly reading

Peter's opening defense refutes the charge of drunkenness by noting the early hour—the third hour (approximately 9 a.m.)—when such intoxication would be implausible.

Language and setting

The phrase ὥρα τρίτη ('third hour') uses Jewish reckoning where hours begin at sunrise. Nine in the morning would be before the usual time for eating or drinking in Jewish custom. Peter's rhetorical strategy is economical: he dismisses the skeptics' explanation not with argument but with simple, irrefutable fact. The logical force is devastating in its simplicity.

Voice

Peter

Significance

Peter's defense establishes a pattern for Acts: apologetic refutation of naturalistic explanations must precede theological interpretation. The dismissal of the drunkenness charge clears away competing explanations, making space for the supernatural interpretation that Peter will now provide through scriptural testimony.

13But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”

14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words.

15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!

16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Read all of Acts 2 — The Spirit arrives like wind and fire. The church is born in a single day. A movement that will never stop starts in one room.