Give me a grammatical analysis of this text "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh"

 

Give me a grammatical analysis of this text "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh"

Grammatical Analysis of "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh"

This sentence from Joel 2:28 presents several interesting grammatical features:

Sentence Structure:

• Compound sentence: Consists of two independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction "And":
  • First clause: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God"
  • Second clause: "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh"

Parts of Speech:

• Conjunction: "And" introduces the second clause and connects the thoughts.
• Modal verb: "Shall come to pass" expresses possibility or future eventuality.
• Prepositional phrase: "In the last days" modifies the verb "come to pass" and indicates the timeframe.
• Reported speech: "Saith God" introduces the words spoken by God, using indirect quotation.
• Pronoun: "I" refers to God.
• Verb + prepositional phrase: "Will pour out of my Spirit" describes God's action and direction.
• Prepositional phrase: "Upon all flesh" modifies the verb "pour out" and indicates the recipient of the action.

Sentence Features:

• Figurative language: "Pour out of my Spirit" is a metaphor, portraying the Holy Spirit as a liquid being poured out.
• Personification: Attributing speech to God ("saith God") personalizes the divine.
• Emphatic parallelism: The repetition of "your sons and your daughters" in the subsequent verse (29) creates emphasis and rhythm.
• Formal register: The sentence uses elevated vocabulary and syntax ("it shall come to pass," "saith God") fitting its religious context.

Analysis Summary:

• The sentence employs several grammatical elements to convey a future prophecy from God: the inevitability of His action ("shall"), the timeframe ("in the last days"), His authority ("saith God"), and the universality of His gift ("upon all flesh").
• The use of figurative language enhances the impact of the message, while the formal register underscores its significance.
• While grammatically straightforward, the sentence's richness lies in its evocative language and religious context.

This analysis provides a basic understanding of the sentence's grammar. Further analysis could delve deeper into specific features, such as the historical context of certain words or the stylistic effects of parallelism.