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Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
Joel 3:17 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB “So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass through her any more.
  • KJV So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
  • NKJV “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
  • NASB Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling on Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will no longer pass through it.
  • NLT “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, live in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy forever, and foreign armies will never conquer her again.

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's people will know He dwells in Zion, His holy mountain, now made holy and secure from invaders. His abiding presence sanctifies and protects His people.

Overview

The aim of God's judgment and deliverance is that His people would know Him as their God dwelling among them, with Jerusalem made holy and inviolable. This assurance of God's secure, sanctifying presence is the crown of restoration. It anticipates the new covenant and the heavenly Jerusalem, where God dwells with His redeemed people forever through Christ (Revelation 21:3).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Joel 2:27Then you will know that I am present in Israel and that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.
  • Isa 52:1Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
  • Nah 1:15Look to the mountains—the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off.
  • Rev 21:27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
  • Isa 4:3Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy—all in Jerusalem who are recorded among the living—
  • Jer 31:23This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore them from captivity, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling place, O holy mountain.’
  • Zech 14:20–21On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar.
  • Joel 3:21For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.” For the LORD dwells in Zion.
  • Ezek 43:12This is the law of the temple: All its surrounding territory on top of the mountain will be most holy. Yes, this is the law of the temple.
  • Ezek 48:35The perimeter of the city will be 18,000 cubits, and from that day on the name of the city will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”
  • Obad 1:16–17For as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and gulp it down; they will be as if they had never existed.
  • Isa 12:6Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
  • Mic 4:7And I will make the lame into a remnant, and the outcast into a strong nation. Then the LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.
  • Zeph 3:14–16Sing for joy, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
  • Zech 8:3This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”
  • Ps 76:2His tent is in Salem, His dwelling place in Zion.
  • Ps 9:11Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; proclaim His deeds among the nations.
  • Isa 35:8And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
  • Dan 11:45He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joel 3:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 3:17 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.