Joel 2:28–29
God promises to pour out his spirit on all flesh: sons, daughters and slaves
Study it word by word28And 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 even on the male slaves and on the female slaves in those days I will pour out my spirit.
In its context
26And you will eat plenty and be satisfied, and you will praise the name of YHWH your Elohim, who has dealt with you wondrously; and my people will not be ashamed forever.
27And you will know that in the midst of Israel am I, and I am YHWH your Elohim, and there is no other; and my people will not be ashamed forever.
…
30And I will give wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the day of YHWH, the great and fearsome day.
Its words in the original
- הָיָהhaya· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- אֶשְׁפּוֹךְeshpoch· pour out, shed
Pour out, pour. "Shed blood" is to kill; "pour out one's soul" or "one's heart" is to open it before God.
- רוּחִruchi· spirit, wind, breath
The basic idea is "air in motion". The same word can be "wind"; "breath", the air that is breathed and keeps life; or "spirit": the mood or inner strength of a person, or the Spirit of God, his presence and power at work.
- בָּשָׂרbasar· flesh
Flesh: the body, and the person as weak and mortal. "One flesh" is the union of husband and wife; "my flesh" can mean "my family". "All flesh" is every living being. In the Old Testament it does not mean something bad in itself.
- נִבְּאוּnibu· prophesy
Prophesy: speak moved by the spirit of God. It is not always foretelling the future; it is saying what God gives to say.
- בְּנֵיbene· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- בְנוֹתֵיvenote· daughter
Daughter; also granddaughter. In the plural, also the women of a people or place ("daughters of Canaan"); "daughter of Zion" stands for a city and its people.
- זִקְנֵיzikne· old, elder
Old, aged. In the plural, "the elders": the older men who led a city or a people.
- חֲלֹמוֹתchalomot· dream
Dream: what one sees while asleep. In the Bible, God sometimes speaks through dreams.
- יַחֲלֹמוּyachalomu· dream
Dream.
- בַּחוּרֵיbachure· young man
A young man in the prime of life.
- חֶזְיֹנוֹתchezyonot· vision
A vision: what God shows or communicates, sometimes at night or in dreams.
- יִרְאוּyiru· see
See. Also look, observe, notice, consider; in some forms, "appear" or "show".
- עֲבָדִיםavadim· slave, servant
Slave, servant: someone who belongs to another or is in his service. It can be a slave, a worker or a high official of the king; before God, one who serves him. "Your servant" is a polite way to say "I".
- שְּׁפָחוֹתshefachot· female slave, servant
Female slave, maidservant in the service of the lady of the house.
- יָּמִיםyamim· day
Day: the hours of light, or a whole day from one evening to the next. Also an indefinite time or age ("in the day that...", "in those days").