2:17a
In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people: The Greek and Berean Standard Bible put the phrase God says in the middle of what he said. In some languages it is necessary or more natural to have this phrase first. For example:
God says, ‘In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…’
Peter adds the words God says to make it clear who spoke the words which follow. Those words are not in the quote from Joel.
In the last days: The phrase the last days refers to the period of time just before the current age ends. It was used to describe the final activities that would happen before this age ended and the new age began. It does not say how long this time is. It implies that the new age will soon begin. In some languages a literal translation would indicate only a few days. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Indicate it is a period of time at the end of the current age. For example:
In the last part of this era
• Explain its meaning in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
This phrase refers to the last part of the current time period.
I will pour out My Spirit on all people: The verb pour is a figure of speech that means “give” here. In some languages the phrase pour out can apply only to liquids, not the Holy Spirit. If that is true in your language, use a word or phrase that can apply to the Holy Spirit. For example:
I will give my Spirit to everyone (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I will send my Spirit to all people
I: Here the pronoun I refers to God, not to Joel.
My Spirit: This phrase refers to the Holy Spirit. In some languages the word “Holy” must be included to have the correct meaning. For example:
my ⌊Holy⌋ Spirit
2:17b
Your sons and daughters: The people there would have understood Your sons and daughters as referring to their own children.
prophesy: This verb refers to speaking a message on behalf of God. God speaks to the prophet through words and visions. Then the prophet tells God’s message (prophesying) to the people or writes it down for their use. For example:
speak what God has revealed (God’s Word)
-or-
proclaim my message (Good News Translation)
-or-
speak on God’s behalf
2:17c
young men: In Jewish culture at that time the phrase young men referred to males from about 24 through 39 years of age. Here the exact ages are not important. Also, probably young women are included as well. For example:
young people (New Jerusalem Bible)
visions: Here the word visions refers to things that God causes people to see supernaturally. A vision is not normal seeing. It is like seeing things in a dream, but the person is usually awake.
old men will dream dreams: These dreams come from God. With them God shows people what he wants them to know. In some languages a literal translation would not imply that God gave the dream and its meaning to them. If that is true in your language, you may want to include the implied information. For example:
old men will dream dreams ⌊from God⌋
In some languages only the verb dream is needed for the correct meaning. For example:
old men will dream
In some languages only the noun dreams is needed for the correct meaning. For example:
old men will see dreams
old men: Here probably old women are included as well. For example:
old people (New Jerusalem Bible)
General Comment on 2:17c
In some languages the translation of “vision” and the translation of “dream” is the same word. If possible indicate the difference between the two meanings. For example:
your young men and old men will see visions/dreams, during the night and during the day
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