Meaning, commentary and cross references
Joel 2:28
“And it 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,
and your young men shall see visions.”In other translations
KJV · King James Version
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:
NIV · New International Version
“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.
WEB · World English Bible
“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.
What does Joel 2:28 mean?
John Gill · Exposition of the Entire Bible, on Joel 2:28
And it shall come to pass afterward,.... After the teacher of righteousness has been sent, and a plentiful rain of the Gospel has been let down in the land of Judea, in the ministry of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles, and such a comfortable enjoyment of the blessings of grace in it, and the knowledge of God by it; and after the wonderful work of redemption wrought by Christ. R. Jeshua in Aben Ezra and Jarchi both say this prophecy refers to time to come; and Kimchi observes, that the phrase is the same with "in the last days"; and so the Apostle Peter quotes it, Acts 2:17; a phrase, as the above writer observes, which always signifies the days of the Messiah, to which he applies…
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Joel 2:28–32
Not your sons only, but your daughters, shall prophesy; we read of four sisters in one family that were prophetesses, Act 21:9. Not the parents only, but the children, shall be filled with the Spirit, which intimates the continuance of this gift for some ages successively in the church. (2.) Upon some of each age: "Your old men, who are past their vigour and whose spirits begin to decay, your young men, who have yet but little acquaintance with and experience of divine things, shall yet dream dreams and see visions;" God will reveal himself by dreams and visions both to the young and old.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706–21; Romans–Revelation completed by Nonconformist ministers). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
John Calvin · Commentaries, on Joel 2:28
28. 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: 28. Et accidet post sic (hoc est, postea,) effundam Spiritum meum super omnem carnem: et prophetabunt filii vestri et filiae vestrae: senes vestri somnia sommabunt: juvenes vestri (aut, viri electi) visiones videbunt. We have explained why the Prophet began with earthly blessings.
John Calvin, Commentaries (Calvin Translation Society English text). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Context: Joel 2:25–31 (WEB)
25I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you. 26You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied, and will praise the name of the LORD, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed. 27You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am the LORD, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed. 28“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. 29And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. 30I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. 31The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
Cross references
- Acts 2:16–21
But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
- Ezekiel 39:29
I won’t hide my face from them any more, for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”
- Isaiah 32:15
until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is considered a forest.
- Acts 2:39
For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
- Acts 2:2–4
Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
- Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring;
- Zechariah 12:10
I will pour on David’s house and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication. They will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for his firstborn.
- Acts 11:15–18
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning.