1 At that time when this happens, when I bring back the exiles to Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather together all the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat and I will judge them there over my people Israel, my inheritance, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have divided up my land. 3 They cast lots for my people; they traded boys in payment for prostitutes and girls to buy wine to drink. 4 Also, what have you got to do with me, Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you trying to get back at me? If you are trying to pay me back, I will quickly pay you back what you deserve for what you've done. 5 You stole my silver and my gold and my best treasures, and you put them in your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks so they could be sent far away from their land. 7 But watch out! I will get them moving from the places you sold them to, and bring them back, and I will pay you back what you deserve for what you've done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation. I the Lord have spoken. 9 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Call up the mighty warriors! Let all the soldiers get ready and advance! 10 Hammer your plow blades and turn them into swords. Turn your pruning hooks into spears. Even the weak should say ‘I am a strong fighter!’ 11 Hurry up and come, all nations from everywhere, and gather there. Bring down your warriors, Lord! 12 Let the nations get ready, let them come to the valley of Jehoshaphat for there I will sit in judgment on all the nations. 13 Start swinging the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come and tread the grapes for the winepress is full and the vats are overflowing because their wickedness has become so great. 14 Huge mobs are in the valley of the Lord's verdict. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of his verdict. 15 The sun and moon will become dark, and the stars will stop shining. 16 The Lord will roar from Zion, shouting in a loud voice from Jerusalem, shaking the heavens and the earth. But the Lord will shelter his people, protecting the people of Israel. 17 Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy mountain, and Jerusalem will be a holy place forever, and no foreigners will ever march through her again. 18 At that time new wine will pour down the mountains, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the riverbeds of Judah will run with water. A spring will flow out of the Temple and will water the valley of Shittim. 19 But Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence they did against Judah, for in their land they shed innocent blood. 20 Judah will be lived in forever, and Jerusalem for all generations. 21 Will I pardon and leave unpunished the shedding of innocent blood? The Lord lives in Zion!”
Joel 3 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (21)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Zephaniah 3:19–20; Jeremiah 30:3; Ezekiel 39:25; Amos 9:14; Jeremiah 29:14
- 2 Zechariah 14:2–4; Isaiah 66:16; Zephaniah 3:8; Ezekiel 38:22; Joel 3:12
- 3 Nahum 3:10; Amos 2:6; Obadiah 11; Revelation 18:13; 2 Chronicles 28:8–9
- 4 Amos 1:6–10; Jeremiah 47:4; Isaiah 34:8; Isaiah 59:18; Ezekiel 25:12–17
- 5 2 Chronicles 21:16–17; 2 Kings 24:13; 2 Kings 16:8; 2 Kings 12:18; 2 Kings 18:15–16
- 6 Ezekiel 27:13; Joel 3:3; Joel 3:8; Deuteronomy 28:68; Deuteronomy 28:32
- 7 Isaiah 43:5–6; Jeremiah 23:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:6; Jeremiah 30:16; Jeremiah 30:10
- 8 Isaiah 60:14; Job 1:15; Judges 2:14; Isaiah 14:1–2; Judges 4:2
- 9 Jeremiah 46:3–4; Ezekiel 38:7; Isaiah 8:9–10; Jeremiah 31:10; Jeremiah 50:2
- 10 Zechariah 12:8; Micah 4:3; Isaiah 2:4; 2 Chronicles 25:8; Luke 22:36
- 11 Isaiah 13:3; Zephaniah 3:8; Revelation 19:19–20; Revelation 19:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:7
- 12 Joel 3:2; Isaiah 3:13; Psalm 98:9; Isaiah 2:4; Psalm 96:13
- 13 Revelation 14:15–20; Hosea 6:11; Mark 4:29; Jeremiah 51:33; Isaiah 63:3
- 14 Isaiah 34:2–8; Joel 3:2; Philippians 3:2; Revelation 16:14–16; Joel 1:15
- 15 Joel 2:10; Luke 21:25–26; Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29; Isaiah 13:10
- 16 Amos 1:2; Joel 2:10–11; Jeremiah 25:30–31; Proverbs 18:10; Jeremiah 16:19
- 17 Joel 2:27; Nahum 1:15; Isaiah 52:1; Isaiah 4:3; Revelation 21:27
- 18 Isaiah 35:6; Ezekiel 47:1–12; Revelation 22:1–2; Zechariah 14:8; Amos 9:13–14
- 19 Isaiah 19:1–15; Zechariah 14:18–19; Jeremiah 51:35; Ezekiel 35:1–15; Amos 1:11–12
- 20 Ezekiel 37:25; Isaiah 33:20; Amos 9:15
- 21 Isaiah 4:4; Revelation 21:3; Ezekiel 36:25; Ezekiel 36:29; Ezekiel 48:35
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… will have compassion upon us: He will destroy our iniquities, and will cast our sins into the depths of the sea." And again, specifying the place of His advent, he says: "The Lord hath spoken from Zion, and He has uttered His voice from Jerusalem." And that it is from that region which is towards the south of the inheritance …
And there are also some of them who say, "The Lord hath spoken in Zion, and uttered His voice from Jerusalem;" and, "In Judah is God known;" -- these indicated His advent which took place in Judea.