Acts 2:17-18

2:17 ‘And in the last days ¹  it will be,’ God says,

‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, ² 

and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

2:18 Even on my servants, ³  both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ⁴ 

Acts 2:29-30

2:29 “Brothers, ⁵  I can speak confidently ⁶  to you about our forefather ⁷  David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 2:30 So then, because ⁸  he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants ⁹  on his throne, ¹⁰ 

[2:17]  ¹ sn The phrase in the last days is not quoted from Joel, but represents Peter’s interpretive explanation of the current events as falling “in the last days.”

[2:17]  ² tn Grk “on all flesh.”

[2:18]  ³ tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[2:18]  ⁴ sn The words and they will prophesy in Acts 2:18 are not quoted from Joel 2:29 at this point but are repeated from earlier in the quotation (Acts 2:17) for emphasis. Tongues speaking is described as prophecy, just like intelligible tongues are described in 1 Cor 14:26-33.

[2:29]  ⁵ tn Since this represents a continuation of the address beginning in v.14 and continued in v. 22, “brothers” has been used here rather than a generic expression like “brothers and sisters.”

[2:29]  ⁶ sn Peter’s certainty is based on well-known facts.

[2:29]  ⁷ tn Or “about our noted ancestor,” “about the patriarch.”

[2:30]  ⁸ tn The participles ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) and εἰδώς (eidw") are translated as causal adverbial participles.

[2:30]  ⁹ tn Grk “one from the fruit of his loins.” “Loins” is the traditional translation of ὀσφῦς (osfu"), referring to the male genital organs. A literal rendering like “one who came from his genital organs” would be regarded as too specific and perhaps even vulgar by many contemporary readers. Most modern translations thus render the phrase “one of his descendants.”

[2:30]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 132:11 and 2 Sam 7:12-13, the promise in the Davidic covenant.