Joel 3:1-16

1 "In those days and at that time, I will bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem.

2 I will gather all the nations. I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. I will judge them there. They scattered the Israelites, the people who belong to me, among the nations. They divided my land.

3 They threw dice for my people. They traded boys for prostitutes. They sold girls so that they could buy wine to drink.

4 "Now what do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will quickly pay you back for what you have done.

5 You took my silver and my gold. You brought my finest treasures to your temples.

6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. That way you could send them far away from their land.

7 I am going to make them leave the place where you sold them. I will pay you back for what you have done.

8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. They will sell them to the people of Sheba, a nation that is far away." The LORD has spoken.

9 Announce this among the nations: Prepare yourselves for war. Wake up the warriors. Have all the warriors come near and attack.

10 Hammer your plowblades into swords and your pruning shears into spears. Weaklings should say that they are warriors.

11 Hurry from every direction, and gather there, all you nations. O LORD, bring your soldiers.

12 Wake up, you nations. Come to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

13 Cut them down like grain. The harvest is ripe. Stomp on them as you would stomp on grapes. The winepress is full. The vats overflow. The nations are very wicked.

14 There are many, many people in the valley of decision. The day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and the moon will turn dark. The stars will no longer shine.

16 The LORD will roar from Zion, and his voice will thunder from Jerusalem. The sky and the earth will shake. The LORD will be a refuge for his people. He will be a stronghold for the people of Israel.

Joel 3:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOEL 3

This chapter, which some make the fourth, contains a prophecy of God's judgments on all the antichristian nations at the time of the Jews' conversion, and the reasons of them, Joe 3:1-3; a threatening of Tyre and Zidon, by way of retaliation, for carrying the riches of the Jews into their temples, and selling their persons to the Greeks, Joe 3:4-8; an alarm to prepare for the battle of Armageddon, or the destruction that shall be made in the valley of Jehoshaphat, Joe 3:9-15; and after that an account of the happy state of the church of Christ, their safety and security, plenty, prosperity, and purity, to the end of the world, Joe 3:16-21.