“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
- KJV Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
- BSB Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side.
- NASB Let the nations be awakened And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations.
- NLT “Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the Lord, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all.
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
God summons the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat, where He will sit to judge them all. He presides as the righteous judge over the gathered nations.
Overview
Yahweh declares that He himself will sit in the valley of judgment to render verdict on all the surrounding nations. The image of God enthroned as judge conveys His sovereign authority over the peoples of the earth. This courtroom scene foreshadows the final judgment, when Christ, to whom the Father has given all judgment (John 5:22), will judge the nations in righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Joel 3:2I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land,
- Ps 96:13before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth.
- Ps 98:9Let them sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
- Isa 2:4He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
- Isa 3:13Yahweh stands up to contend, and stands to judge the peoples.
- Mic 4:3and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more.
- Zech 14:4His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
- Joel 3:14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.
- Ps 7:6Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
- Rev 19:11I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.
- Ezek 30:3For the day is near, even the day of Yahweh is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations.
- Ezek 39:11It shall happen in that day, that I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of those who pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop those who pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon Gog.
- 2 Chr 20:26On the fourth day, they assembled themselves in Beracah Valley, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place was called “Beracah Valley” to this day.
- Ps 76:8–9You pronounced judgment from heaven. The earth feared, and was silent,
- Ps 110:5–6The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
- Ps 2:8–9Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
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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 3:12 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
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