And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

And they of the circumcision that believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And the faithful of the circumcision, who came with Peter, were astonished, for that the grace of the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Gentiles also.

And the faithful of the circumcision were astonished, as many as came with Peter, that upon the nations also the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out:

And they of the circumcision which believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

And they of the circumcision who believed, were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit.

and those of the circumcision believing were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because also upon the nations the gift of the Holy Spirit hath been poured out,

And all the Jewish believers who had come with Peter were astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out.

And the Jews of the faith, who had come with Peter, were full of wonder, because the Holy Spirit was given to the Gentiles,

And the faithful of the circumcision, who had arrived with Peter, were astonished that the grace of the Holy Spirit was also poured out upon the Gentiles.

Those converts from Judaism, who had come with Peter, were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been bestowed even on the Gentiles;

The faithful were astonished. He calleth them faithful who were as yet possessed with a wicked error. So the Lord doth not by and by wipe away all clouds of ignorance from his, and yet they do not darken the praise of faith before God, because he pardoneth errors and doth vouchsafe to favor it, as if it were pure and plain. And yet it is a wonder, that seeing they knew that Peter was sent of God, they would now be amazed, as at some strange and new thing, because God giveth the grace of his Spirit to those to whom he would have Christ now preached; but the sudden change is the cause of this, because, whereas God until that day had separated the Gentiles from his people as strangers and aliens, he doth now favor them both alike, and lifteth them up into the like degree of honor. Although we be also taught by this example, how hard a matter it is for us to wind out ourselves out of our errors once conceived, especially when they are of any continuance.

And they of the circumcision - Who had been Jews.
Were astonished - Were amazed that Gentiles should be admitted to the same favor as themselves.

They of the circumcision - were astonished - Because it was a maxim with them that the Shechinah or Divine influence could not be revealed to any person who dwelt beyond the precincts of the promised land. Nor did any of them believe that the Divine Spirit could be communicated to any Gentile. It is no wonder, therefore, that they were amazed when they saw the Spirit of God so liberally given as it was on this occasion.

And they of the circumcision which believed,.... Or "of the Jews that believed", as the Ethiopic version renders it; the circumcised Jews who believed in Jesus Christ:
were astonished, as many as came with Peter; who were six brethren, as appears from Acts 11:12 these were amazed,
because that on the Gentiles also was poured out of the gift of the Holy Ghost; which they before thought was peculiar to the Jews; and this was according to their former notions, and the sentiments of the whole nation, that the Shekinah does not dwell without the land, and only in the land of Israel (o); yea, they sometimes say, only upon the families in Israel, whose genealogies are clear (p): the same they say of prophecy (q), which is one of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and was one of those which were now bestowed. They own, that before the giving of the law, the Holy Ghost was among the Gentiles, but from that time ceased to be among them (r): hence even these believing Jews wonder at the pouring it forth upon them; which they needed not, had they known that the legal dispensation was now at an end, and the Gospel dispensation had taken place; in which it had been foretold the Spirit should be poured forth on the dry ground of the Gentiles.
(o) Zohar in Genesis. fol. 118. 4. & in Exod. fol. 2. 3. & 70. 2. Maimon. Kiddush Hachodesh, c. 4. sect. 12. & Jarchi in Jonah i. 3. (p) T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 70. 2. (q) Zohar in Genesis. fol. 128. 4. (r) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 21. p. 59.

they of the circumcision . . . were astonished . . . because that on the Gentiles also was poured out, &c.--without circumcision.

They of the circumcision. The Jews who went with Peter. They were astonished that the Holy Spirit should fall on Gentiles. This miraculous outpouring was extraordinary, and the object is plain, viz: to convince Peter and his fellow Jews that God had accepted the Gentiles; the same reason for which Peter's vision had been given. This is the only instance recorded of the Spirit falling on unbaptized persons. This exception is made to convince the Jewish Christians that uncircumcised Gentiles were fit subjects of baptism. Peter had to recall this fact in order to convince the church at Jerusalem that he had done right (Acts 11:2-3, Acts 11:15). As on Pentecost the Holy Spirit fell on Jews, so now when Gentiles receive the gospel they are baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:15-16).

The believers of the circumcision - The believing Jews.