Acts 2

Peter’s proclamation

14 So Peter, standing with the eleven,*Many versions render ‘standing up’, as if Peter and the others had been sitting in the house all this time (did the crowd invade the house?). The basic meaning of the verb here is more like ‘standing still’ (stopping)—I take it that the Eleven had been mingling with the crowd too, but Peter now gathers them to form a nucleus upon which the crowd can focus its attention. raised his voice and proclaimed to them: "Men—Jews and all who are dwelling in Jerusalem—let this be known to you; indeed, listen to my speech! 15 Because these are not drunk, as you suppose (since it is only the third hour of the day), 16 but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God:

I will pour out from my Spirit upon all flesh;

your sons and your daughters will prophesy;

your young men will see visions;

your old men will dream a dream.*"Visions" is plural, but "dream" is singular, in the Text (albeit 15% of the Greek manuscripts do have ‘dreams’). When I was young I had all sorts of ‘visions’ of what I thought I was going to achieve in my lifetime. Now that I am old I am pretty well reduced to one ‘dream’. One’s focus must accompany his energy level. (My personal experience is probably not the intended meaning of the Text, but I am not sure what it might be—do all old men have the same dream?)