^2:14But Peter stood up²⁵ with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea²⁶ and all you who live in Jerusalem,²⁷ know this²⁸ and listen carefully to what I say. ^2:15In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk,²⁹ for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.³⁰^2:16But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:³¹

^2:17‘And in the last days³² it will be,’ God says,

‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people,³³

and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

^2:18Even on my servants,³⁴ both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.³⁵

^2:19And I will perform wonders in the sky³⁶ above

and miraculous signs³⁷ on the earth below,

blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

^2:20The sun will be changed to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and glorious³⁸ day of the Lord comes.

^2:21And then³⁹ everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’⁴⁰

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Footnotes

25 Grk “standing up.” The participle σταθείς (statheis) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
26 Or “You Jewish men.” “Judea” is preferred here because it is paired with “Jerusalem,” a location. This suggests locality rather than ethnic background is the primary emphasis in the context. As for “men,” the Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anēr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, where “all” who live in Jerusalem are addressed, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.
27 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
28 Grk “let this be known to you.” The passive construction has been translated as an active for stylistic reasons.
29 Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”
30 Grk “only the third hour.”
31 Note how in the quotation that follows all genders, ages, and classes are included. The event is like a hope Moses expressed in Num 11:29.
32 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.”
33 Grk “on all flesh.”
34 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. 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” ( ). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the 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.
35 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.
36 Or “in the heaven.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context. Here, in contrast to “the earth below,” a reference to the sky is more likely.
37 Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned; this is made explicit in the translation.
38 Or “and wonderful.”
39 Grk “And it will be that.”
40 A quotation from Joel 2:28–32.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

even on my male servants and female servants

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

And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

the sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“ ‘In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

your old men will dream dreams.

Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

And it will be in the last days, says God,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all people;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

I will even pour out my Spirit

on my servants in those days, both men and women

and they will prophesy.

I will display wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below:

blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

Then everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.

NLTNew Living Translation

Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days,’ God says,

‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

In those days I will pour out my Spirit

even on my servants—men and women alike—

and they will prophesy.

And I will cause wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below—

blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

The sun will become dark,

and the moon will turn blood red

before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.

But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

will be saved.’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them, “Judean men, and all those who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words! For these men are not drunk, as you assume, because it is the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

‘And it will be in the last days,’ God says,

‘I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

and your young men will see visions,

and your old men will dream dreams.

And even on my male slaves and on my female slaves

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

And I will cause wonders in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

The sun will be changed to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

And it will be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’

KJV 1900King James Version

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Public Domain