Joel 3:17-21

17 And you will know that I, Yahweh your God, [am] dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be [a place of] holiness, and strangers will pass through [it] no longer.
18 And it will happen on that day; the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the channels of Judah will flow with water. A spring from the house of Yahweh will come forth, and it will water the valley of Acacia Trees.
19 Egypt will become a desolation, and Edom will become a {desolate desert}, because of the violence [they did] against the children of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem {for all generations}.
21 {I will cleanse their bloodguilt} [that] {I did not cleanse}, for Yahweh is dwelling in Zion.

Joel 3:17-21 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.

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Or "the wadi Shittim"
  • [b]. Literally "desert of desolation"
  • [c]. Or "for each generation"
  • [d]. Literally "I will not leave unpunished their blood"
  • [e]. Or "I did not consider innocent"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.