Passage

Acts 2.17-18

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"15. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16. but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel:"

"17. And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams: 18. Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."

"19. And I will show wonders in the heaven above, And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of the Lord come, That great and notable day." (Acts 2:15-20, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"15. For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. 16. But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:"

"17. ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. 18. Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy."

"19. I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. 20. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes." (Acts 2:15-20, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"15. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;"

"17. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:"

"19. And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:" (Acts 2:15-20, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"15. for these are not drunken, as ye take it up, for it is the third hour of the day. 16. 'But this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel:"

"17. And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18. and also upon My men-servants, and upon My maid-servants, in those days, I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy;"

"19. and I will give wonders in the heaven above, and signs upon the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke, 20. the sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the day of the Lord, the great and illustrious;" (Acts 2:15-20, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Luke the physician (traditionally) / narrator + multiple speeches (Peter, Stephen, Paul)
Audience: Theophilus + Gentile Christian audience (companion to Luke)
Location: Jerusalem → Judea → Samaria → Asia Minor → Greece → Rome
Time period: events c. AD 30-62; composed c. AD 62-80

Theological reading

Key words

G1401 - doulos, doulos (Strong's G1401). Also appears in: Matthew 8.5-12, Matthew 18.23-35, Matthew 20.25-28.
G2316 - theos, theos (Strong's G2316). Also appears in: Matthew 1.23, Matthew 3.16, Matthew 5.9.
G3956 - pas, pas (Strong's G3956). Also appears in: Matthew 1, Matthew 2.1-6, Matthew 2.16.
G4151 - pneuma, pneuma (Strong's G4151). Also appears in: Matthew 1.18, Matthew 1.20, Matthew 3.16.
G4561 - sarx, sarx (Strong's G4561). Also appears in: Matthew 19, Matthew 26.41, Mark 14.
G5207 - huios, huios (Strong's G5207). Also appears in: Matthew 1.1, Matthew 1.20, Matthew 1.21.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.