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And even on My male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy.
Acts 2:18 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
  • KJV And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
  • BSB Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
  • NKJV And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.
  • NLT In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God promises to pour out His Spirit even on servants and handmaids, who will prophesy. It stresses that the Spirit's gift transcends social standing.

Overview

The inclusion of male and female servants shows the Spirit poured out without regard to social rank. All God's people share in the prophetic Spirit under the new covenant. This fulfills the promise that the gospel and its blessings reach every kind of person.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Col 3:11where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
  • Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  • 1 Cor 7:21–22Were you called being a bondservant? Don’t let that bother you, but if you get an opportunity to become free, use it.
  • Acts 21:10As we stayed there some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 2:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 2:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.