Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.
- KJV Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
- NKJV Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.
- NASB Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, Lord, Your warriors.
- NLT Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.” And now, O Lord, call out your warriors!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The surrounding nations are called to gather, while Joel prays for Yahweh to bring down His mighty ones. Human armies assemble only to face God's heavenly host.
Overview
Joel summons the nations to converge for judgment and then breaks into prayer, asking God to send down His warriors. The contrast between the gathered nations and God's mighty ones, likely His angelic host, underscores where true power lies. The scene anticipates the final triumph of God over all rebellious powers, accomplished through Christ the conquering King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 13:3I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph.
- Zeph 3:8Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “until the day I rise to testify. For My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation—all My burning anger. For all the earth will be consumed by the fire of My jealousy.
- Joel 3:2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land.
- Ezek 38:9–18You and all your troops, and many peoples with you will go up, advancing like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
- Mic 4:12But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
- Zech 14:2–3For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
- 2 Th 1:7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- Rev 16:14–16These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
- Isa 37:36Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
- Isa 10:34He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.
- Rev 20:8–9and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.
- Rev 19:14The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses.
- Rev 19:19–20Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army.
- Ps 103:20Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh and the call to 'everyone who calls on the name of the LORD' are fulfilled at Pentecost in the name of Jesus.
How Joel 3:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.