Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and language groups who were living in all the land: “Peace and prosperity! ¹ 

There is no actual speech or word, nor is its ¹  voice literally heard.

“I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; ¹  a time ²  is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you ³  plainly ⁴  about the Father.

When this sound ¹  occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion, ²  because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

The king’s scribes were quickly ¹  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ²  They wrote out ³  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ⁴  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

Then ¹  the angel ²  said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, ³  nations, and languages.

Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, ¹  for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect ²  in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving ¹  him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. ²  His kingdom will not be destroyed. ³ 

This ¹  became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language ²  they called that field ³  Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”)

So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted ¹  in the Lycaonian language, ²  “The gods have come down to us in human form!” ³ 

For three and a half days those from every ¹  people, tribe, ²  nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb. ³ 

Then ¹  I saw another ²  angel flying directly overhead, ³  and he had ⁴  an eternal gospel to proclaim ⁵  to those who live ⁶  on the earth – to every nation, tribe, ⁷  language, and people.

Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, ¹  for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect ²  in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”

These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; ¹ 

(When they heard ¹  that he was addressing ²  them in Aramaic, ³  they became even ⁴  quieter.) ⁵  Then ⁶  Paul said,

The Lord says, ¹  “Listen, ²  nation of Israel! ³  I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you. It will be a nation that was founded long ago and has lasted for a long time. It will be a nation whose language you will not know. Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.

They called out loudly in the Judahite dialect to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, trying to scare and terrify them so they could seize the city.

The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, ¹  “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria.

Know for sure that I will then enable the nations to give me acceptable praise. ¹  All of them will invoke the Lord’s name when they pray, ²  and will worship him in unison. ³ 

All ¹  of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages ²  as the Spirit enabled them. ³