Joel 3

Judgment of the Nations

1 ^[a] Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,^[b]

2 I will gather all the nations and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.^[c] I will enter into judgment with them there because of My people, My inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up My land.

3 They cast lots for My people;^[d] they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.

4 And also: Tyre, Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia-what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.^[e]

5 For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures^[f] to your temples.

6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks^[g] to remove them far from their own territory.

7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; I will bring retribution on your heads.

8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans,^[h] to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.

9 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for holy war; rouse the warriors; let all the men of war advance and attack!

10 Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning knives into spears.^[i] Let even the weakling say: I am a warrior.

11 Come quickly,^[j] all you surrounding nations; gather yourselves. Bring down Your warriors there, Lord.

12 Let the nations be roused and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the surrounding nations.

13 Swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample [the grapes] because the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is great.^[k]

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.

16 The Lord will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem;^[l] heaven and earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people,^[m] a stronghold for the Israelites.

Israel Blessed

17 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God,^[n] who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will never overrun it again.^[o]

18 In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,^[p] and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will issue from the Lord's house, watering the Valley of Acacias.^[q]

19 Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence [done] to the people of Judah in whose land they shed innocent blood.

20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 I will pardon their bloodguilt,^[r] [which] I have not pardoned, for the Lord dwells in Zion.

Joel 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

God's judgments in the latter days. (1-8) The extent of these judgments. (9-17) The blessings the church shall enjoy. (18-21)

Verses 1-8 The restoration of the Jews, and the final victory of true religion over all opposers, appear to be here foretold. The contempt and scorn with which the Jews have often been treated as a people, and the little value set upon them, are noticed. None ever hardened his heart against God or his church, and prospered long.

Verses 9-17 Here is a challenge to all the enemies of God's people. There is no escaping God's judgments; hardened sinners, in that day of wrath, shall be cut off from all comfort and joy. Most of the prophets foretell the same final victory of the church of God over all that oppose it. To the wicked it will be a terrible day, but to the righteous it will be a joyful day. What cause have those who possess an interest in Christ, to glory in their Strength and their Redeemer! The acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favour to some, will be a day of remarkable vengeance to others: let every one that is out of Christ awake, and flee from the wrath to come.

Verses 18-21 There shall be abundant Divine influences, and the gospel will spread speedily into the remotest corners of the earth. These events are predicted under significant emblems; there is a day coming, when every thing amiss shall be amended. The fountain of this plenty is in the house of God, whence the streams take rise. Christ is this Fountain; his sufferings, merit, and grace, cleanse, refresh, and make fruitful. Gospel grace, flowing from Christ, shall reach to the Gentile world, to the most remote regions, and make them abound in fruits of righteousness; and from the house of the Lord above, from his heavenly temple, flows all the good we daily taste, and hope to enjoy eternally.

Footnotes

• [a]. Jl 4:1 in Hb
• [b]. Jr 32:44; 33:7,11; Ezk 39:25
• [c]. The Lord Will Judge
• [d]. Ob 11; Nah 3:10
• [e]. Jl 3:7; Ps 28:4
• [f]. 1 Kg 20:6; 2 Ch 36:19; Lm 1:10-11
• [g]. Isa 66:19; Ezk 27:13
• [h]. Probably the south Arabian kingdom of Sheba (modern Yemen)
• [i]. Isa 2:4; Mc 4:3
• [j]. LXX, Syr, Tg read Gather yourselves and come; Hb obscure
• [k]. Rv 19:14-16
• [l]. Am 1:2
• [m]. Ps 46:1; 62:8; Pr 14:26
• [n]. Ex 6:7; 29:46; Ezk 20:20
• [o]. Isa 52:1
• [p]. Am 9:13
• [q]. Or Shittim
• [r]. LXX, Syr read I will avenge their blood

Chapter Summary

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.