The Cloven Tongues of the Spirit

In the King James translation of the Pentecost story in Acts 2, the tongues of fire which appear above the disciples' heads are described as "cloven" or "cleft." That unusual word invites us to think more carefully about what it means for a tongue to be divided. One of the King James Bible's most significant translators, Lancelot Andrewes, once preached that a tongue may be “cleft” in two very different ways.

There is the serpent’s forked tongue. That is the tongue of deception, the tongue that says one thing and means another. It divides in order to confuse. Its doubleness distorts the truth.

But there is also God’s cloven tongue.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples in “cloven tongues, as of fire.” Andrewes contrasts these tongues with the serpent’s forked tongue. The serpent divides speech through deceit. The Spirit multiplies speech for the sake of truth. The apostles are given many tongues so that the one Gospel may be proclaimed among many peoples. Difference is retained and gathered into praise.

The Spirit doesn’t make everyone speak the same language. Instead, the Spirit enables the Word of God to be heard across languages, cultures, and histories.

Andrewes also contrasts Babel and Pentecost. At Babel, human speech is scattered into confusion, and language becomes a sign of estrangement. At Pentecost, that same diversity becomes the means by which the Gospel is shared. What once marked human fragmentation is transformed into an instrument of communion.

The Word of God extends across peoples, cutures, and times, so that it cannot be said to be the possession of any one. It is translated, spoken, sung, prayed, argued over, and received wherever the Church gathers. Through many voices, the same good news is heard.

That is why we need one another. We need the Church, the wisdom of the saints, the witness of ordinary believers, and the Spirit who continues to lead us into truth.

Pentecost is about more than speech. It is about understanding and God's refusal to let human difference end in division. The Spirit takes what might separate us and makes it a means of fellowship.

The serpent’s forked tongue divides by deceit. God’s cloven tongue opens a path toward truth. It gives many voices, so that together we may hear more fully the Gospel of Christ.

The fire spreads. The Word goes out. And through the many tongues of the Church, Christ is still being made known.