The quotation which is introduced in this verse, and which is given in the verses following, comes from Joel 2.28-32, and follows the Septuagint with some changes.

The total shift of viewpoint at the beginning of verse 16 should be made quite explicit. In English the word rather serves this function well, but in other languages it may be necessary to be even more explicit, for example, “you must think differently” or “the truth is very different.”

The pronoun this in the first clause must refer to the speaking in tongues and not to the presumed drunkenness. In many languages one must make this reference somewhat more specific, for example, “this that has happened” or even “this that you see and hear.”

Many languages require some supplementary verb of speaking to introduce direct discourse, for example, “spoke about, when he said,” while other languages never employ such doublets of speaking.

Though in English we may employ two different orders, the prophet Joel or “Joel the prophet,” in many languages only one order is regarded as correct for combining a proper noun (the name) and a function. More often than not, the proper name comes first and the function is treated as a qualifier, for example, “Joel, who was a prophet.” Prophet should focus attention on the fact that such a person “spoke for God” rather than on his function of foretelling the future. In other words, the focus is upon his function as a revealer of God’s will and word, rather than his role as a foreteller of the future.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .