And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Parallel translations
- WEB “It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions.
- BSB And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
- NKJV “Andit shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
- NASB ¶“It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will have dreams, Your young men will see visions.
- NLT “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.
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 on all flesh, so that sons, daughters, old, and young will prophesy and dream. The Spirit will be given broadly, beyond former limits.
Overview
This landmark promise looks beyond the harvest to a greater outpouring of God's Spirit on people of every age and station. Peter declares this fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-18), when the Spirit was given to the church. The democratizing of the Spirit, no longer resting only on select prophets and kings, marks the dawn of the gospel age and the new covenant inaugurated by Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Acts 2:16–21But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
- Ezek 39:29Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
- Acts 2:39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
- Isa 32:15Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
- Acts 2:2–4And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
- Isa 44:3For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
- Zech 12:10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
- Acts 11:15–18And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
- Prov 1:23Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
- John 7:39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
- Acts 15:7–8And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
- Acts 2:33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
- Acts 10:44–47While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
- Luke 3:6And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
- Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Isa 40:5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
- Num 12:6And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
- Isa 49:6And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
- Isa 54:13And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
- Gen 37:5–10And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
- Acts 21:9And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
- Jer 23:28The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh and the call to 'everyone who calls on the name of the LORD' are fulfilled at Pentecost in the name of Jesus.
How Joel 2:28 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
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