Isaiah 11:2-3

11:2 The Lord’s spirit will rest on him ¹  –

a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, ² 

a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, ³ 

a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. ⁴ 

11:3 He will take delight in obeying the Lord. ⁵ 

He will not judge by mere appearances, ⁶ 

or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. ⁷ 

Isaiah 44:3

44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground ⁸ 

and cause streams to flow ⁹  on the dry land.

I will pour my spirit on your offspring

and my blessing on your children.

Isaiah 45:8

45:8 O sky, rain down from above!

Let the clouds send down showers ¹⁰  of deliverance!

Let the earth absorb it ¹¹  so salvation may grow, ¹² 

and deliverance may sprout up ¹³  along with it.

I, the Lord, create it. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 59:19-21

59:19 In the west, people respect ¹⁵  the Lord’s reputation; ¹⁶ 

in the east they recognize his splendor. ¹⁷ 

For he comes like a rushing ¹⁸  stream

driven on by wind sent from the Lord. ¹⁹ 

59:20 “A protector ²⁰  comes to Zion,

to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” ²¹  says the Lord.

59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to ²²  them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” ²³  says the Lord.

Isaiah 63:11

63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. ²⁴ 

Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,

along with the shepherd of ²⁵  his flock?

Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, ²⁶ 

Psalms 104:30

104:30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,

and you replenish the surface of the ground.

Psalms 107:33

107:33 He turned ²⁷  streams into a desert,

springs of water into arid land,

Proverbs 1:23

1:23 If only ²⁸  you will respond ²⁹  to my rebuke, ³⁰ 

then ³¹  I will pour ³²  out my thoughts ³³  to you

and ³⁴  I will make ³⁵  my words known to you.

Ezekiel 39:29

39:29 I will no longer hide my face from them, when I pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, ³⁶  declares the sovereign Lord.”

Joel 2:28-29

An Outpouring of the Spirit

2:28 (3:1) ³⁷  After all of this ³⁸ 

I will pour out my Spirit ³⁹  on all kinds of people. ⁴⁰ 

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; ⁴¹ 

your young men will see prophetic visions.

2:29 Even on male and female servants

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Zechariah 12:10

12:10 “I will pour out on the kingship ⁴²  of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, ⁴³  the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. ⁴⁴ 

Luke 24:49

24:49 And look, I am sending you ⁴⁵  what my Father promised. ⁴⁶  But stay in the city ⁴⁷  until you have been clothed with power ⁴⁸  from on high.”

John 7:39

7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, ⁴⁹  because Jesus was not yet glorified.) ⁵⁰ 

Acts 2:17-18

2:17 ‘And in the last days ⁵¹  it will be,’ God says,

‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, ⁵² 

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, ⁵³  both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ⁵⁴ 

Acts 2:33

2:33 So then, exalted ⁵⁵  to the right hand ⁵⁶  of God, and having received ⁵⁷  the promise of the Holy Spirit ⁵⁸  from the Father, he has poured out ⁵⁹  what you both see and hear.

Acts 2:2

2:2 Suddenly ⁶⁰  a sound ⁶¹  like a violent wind blowing ⁶²  came from heaven ⁶³  and filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Colossians 3:8

3:8 But now, put off all such things ⁶⁴  as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.

Titus 3:5-6

3:5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 3:6 whom he poured out on us in full measure ⁶⁵  through Jesus Christ our Savior.

[11:2]  ¹ sn Like David (1 Sam 16:13), this king will be energized by the Lord’s spirit.

[11:2]  ² tn Heb “a spirit of wisdom and understanding.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of wisdom he will possess. His wisdom will enable him to make just legal decisions (v. 3). A very similar phrase occurs in Eph 1:17.

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “a spirit of counsel [or “strategy”] and strength.” The construction is a hendiadys; the point is that he will have the strength/ability to execute the plans/strategies he devises. This ability will enable him to suppress oppressors and implement just policies (v. 4).

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.” “Knowledge” is used here in its covenantal sense and refers to a recognition of God’s authority and a willingness to submit to it. See Jer 22:16. “Fear” here refers to a healthy respect for God’s authority which produces obedience. Taken together the two terms emphasize the single quality of loyalty to the Lord. This loyalty guarantees that he will make just legal decisions and implement just policies (vv. 4-5).

[11:3]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his smelling is in the fear of the Lord.” In Amos 5:21 the Hiphil of רוּחַ (ruakh, “smell”) carries the nuance of “smell with delight, get pleasure from.” There the Lord declares that he does not “smell with delight” (i.e., get pleasure from) Israel’s religious assemblies, which probably stand by metonymy for the incense offered during these festivals. In Isa 11:3 there is no sacrificial context to suggest such a use, but it is possible that “the fear of the Lord” is likened to incense. This coming king will get the same kind of delight from obeying (fearing) the Lord, as a deity does in the incense offered by worshipers. Some regard such an explanation as strained in this context, and prefer to omit this line from the text as a virtual dittograph of the preceding statement.

[11:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “by what appears to his eyes”; KJV “after the sight of his eyes”; NIV “by what he sees with his eyes.”

[11:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “by what is heard by his ears”; NRSV “by what his ears hear.”

[44:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “the thirsty.” Parallelism suggests that dry ground is in view (see “dry land” in the next line.)

[44:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “and streams”; KJV “floods.” The verb “cause…to flow” is supplied in the second line for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[45:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”

[45:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”

[45:8]  ¹² tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).

[45:8]  ¹³ tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).

[45:8]  ¹⁴ tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).

[59:19]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.”

[59:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”

[59:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”

[59:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”

[59:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).

[59:20]  ²⁰ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[59:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “and to those who turn from rebellion in Jacob.”

[59:21]  ²² tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”

[59:21]  ²³ tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”

[63:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.

[63:11]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.

[63:11]  ²⁶ sn See the note at v. 10.

[107:33]  ²⁷ tn The verbal form appears to be a preterite, which is most naturally taken as narrational. (The use of prefixed forms with vav [ו] consecutive in vv. 36-37 favor this.) The psalmist may return to the theme of God’s intervention for the exiles (see vv. 4-22, especially vv. 4-9). However, many regard vv. 33-41 as a hymnic description which generalizes about God’s activities among men. In this case it would be preferable to use the English present tense throughout (cf. NEB, NRSV).

[1:23]  ²⁸ tn The imperfect tense is in the conditional protasis without the conditional particle, followed by the clause beginning with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “then”). The phrase “If only…” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the syntax; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:23]  ²⁹ tn Heb “turn.” The verb is from שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to respond; to repent”).

[1:23]  ³⁰ sn The noun תּוֹכַחַת (tokhakhat, “rebuke”) is used in all kinds of disputes including rebuking, arguing, reasoning, admonishing, and chiding. The term is broad enough to include here warning and rebuke. Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “reproof”; TEV “when I reprimand you”; CEV “correct you.”

[1:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “Behold!”

[1:23]  ³² tn The Hiphil cohortative of נָבַע (nava’, “to pour out”) describes the speaker’s resolution to pour out wisdom on those who respond.

[1:23]  ³³ tn Heb “my spirit.” The term “spirit” (רוּחַ, ruakh) functions as a metonymy (= spirit) of association (= thoughts), as indicated by the parallelism with “my words” (דְּבָרַי, dÿbaray). The noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) can have a cognitive nuance, e.g., “spirit of wisdom” (Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9). It is used metonymically for “words” (Job 20:3) and “mind” (Isa 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; see BDB 925 s.v. רוּחַ 6). The “spirit of wisdom” produces skill and capacity necessary for success (Isa 11:2; John 7:37-39).

[1:23]  ³⁴ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[1:23]  ³⁵ tn Here too the form is the cohortative, stressing the resolution of wisdom to reveal herself to the one who responds.

[39:29]  ³⁶ sn See Ezek 11:19; 37:14.

[2:28]  ³⁷ sn Beginning with 2:28, the verse numbers through 3:21 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 2:28 ET = 3:1 HT, 2:29 ET = 3:2 HT, 2:30 ET = 3:3 HT, 2:31 ET = 3:4 HT, 2:32 ET = 3:5 HT, 3:1 ET = 4:1 HT, etc., through 3:21 ET = 4:21 HT. Thus Joel in the Hebrew Bible has 4 chapters, the 5 verses of ch. 3 being included at the end of ch. 2 in the English Bible.

[2:28]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Now it will be after this.”

[2:28]  ³⁹ sn This passage plays a key role in the apostolic explanation of the coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2:17-21. Peter introduces his quotation of this passage with “this is that spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16; cf. the similar pesher formula used at Qumran). The New Testament experience at Pentecost is thus seen in some sense as a fulfillment of this Old Testament passage, even though that experience did not exhaustively fulfill Joel’s words. Some portions of Joel’s prophecy have no precise counterpart in that experience. For example, there is nothing in the experience recorded in Acts 2 that exactly corresponds to the earthly and heavenly signs described in Joel 3:3-4. But inasmuch as the messianic age had already begun and the “last days” had already commenced with the coming of the Messiah (cf. Heb 1:1-2), Peter was able to point to Joel 3:1-5 as a text that was relevant to the advent of Jesus and the bestowal of the Spirit. The equative language that Peter employs (“this is that”) stresses an incipient fulfillment of the Joel passage without precluding or minimizing a yet future and more exhaustive fulfillment in events associated with the return of Christ.

[2:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “all flesh.” As a term for humanity, “flesh” suggests the weakness and fragility of human beings as opposed to God who is “spirit.” The word “all” refers not to all human beings without exception (cf. NAB, NASB “all mankind”; NLT “all people”), but to all classes of human beings without distinction (cf. NCV).

[2:28]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “your old men will dream dreams.”

[12:10]  ⁴² tn Or “dynasty”; Heb “house.”

[12:10]  ⁴³ tc Because of the difficulty of the concept of the mortal piercing of God, the subject of this clause, and the shift of pronoun from “me” to “him” in the next, many mss read אַלֵי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ale ’et ’asher, “to the one whom,” a reading followed by NAB, NRSV) rather than the MT’s אֵלַי אֵת אֲשֶׁר (’ela ’et ’asher, “to me whom”). The reasons for such alternatives, however, are clear – they are motivated by scribes who found such statements theologically objectionable – and they should be rejected in favor of the more difficult reading (lectio difficilior) of the MT.

[12:10]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew term בְּכוֹר (bÿkhor, “firstborn”), translated usually in the LXX by πρωτότοκος (prwtotokos), has unmistakable messianic overtones as the use of the Greek term in the NT to describe Jesus makes clear (cf. Col 1:15, 18). Thus, the idea of God being pierced sets the stage for the fatal wounding of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God (cf. John 19:37; Rev 1:7). Note that some English translations supply “son” from the context (e.g., NIV, TEV, NLT).

[24:49]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “sending on you.”

[24:49]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the promise of my Father,” with τοῦ πατρός (tou patros) translated as a subjective genitive. This is a reference to the Holy Spirit and looks back to how one could see Messiah had come with the promise of old (Luke 3:15-18). The promise is rooted in Jer 31:31 and Ezek 36:26.

[24:49]  ⁴⁷ sn The city refers to Jerusalem.

[24:49]  ⁴⁸ sn Until you have been clothed with power refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What the Spirit supplies is enablement. See Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-15. The difference the Spirit makes can be seen in Peter (compare Luke 22:54-62 with Acts 2:14-41).

[7:39]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “for the Spirit was not yet.” Although only B and a handful of other NT mss supply the participle δεδομένον (dedomenon), this is followed in the translation to avoid misunderstanding by the modern English reader that prior to this time the Spirit did not exist. John’s phrase is expressed from a human standpoint and has nothing to do with the preexistence of the third Person of the Godhead. The meaning is that the era of the Holy Spirit had not yet arrived; the Spirit was not as yet at work in a way he later would be because Jesus had not yet returned to his Father. Cf. also Acts 19:2.

[7:39]  ⁵⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[2:17]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² tn Grk “on all flesh.”

[2:18]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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.

[2:33]  ⁵⁵ tn The aorist participle ὑψωθείς (Juywqei") could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…” In the translation the more neutral “exalted” (a shorter form of “having been exalted”) was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ⁵⁶ sn The expression the right hand of God represents supreme power and authority. Its use here sets up the quotation of Ps 110:1 in v. 34.

[2:33]  ⁵⁷ tn The aorist participle λαβών (labwn) could be taken temporally: “So then, after he was exalted…and received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit.” In the translation the more neutral “having received” was used to preserve the ambiguity of the original Greek.

[2:33]  ⁵⁸ tn Here the genitive τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the promise consists of the Holy Spirit.

[2:33]  ⁵⁹ sn The use of the verb poured out looks back to 2:17-18, where the same verb occurs twice.

[2:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated for stylistic reasons. It occurs as part of the formula καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto) which is often left untranslated in Luke-Acts because it is redundant in contemporary English. Here it is possible (and indeed necessary) to translate ἐγένετο as “came” so that the initial clause of the English translation contains a verb; nevertheless the translation of the conjunction καί is not necessary.

[2:2]  ⁶¹ tn Or “a noise.”

[2:2]  ⁶² tn While φέρω (ferw) generally refers to movement from one place to another with the possible implication of causing the movement of other objects, in Acts 2:2 φέρομαι (feromai) should probably be understood in a more idiomatic sense of “blowing” since it is combined with the noun for wind (πνοή, pnoh).

[2:2]  ⁶³ tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.

[3:8]  ⁶⁴ tn The Greek article with τὰ πάντα (ta panta) is anaphoric, referring to the previous list of vices, and has been translated here as “all such things.”

[3:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “on us richly.”