“But Judah will be filled with people forever, and Jerusalem will endure through all generations.
Parallel translations
- WEB But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
- KJV But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
- BSB But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
- NKJV But Judah shall abide forever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
- NASB But Judah will be inhabited forever, And Jerusalem for all generations.
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
In contrast to the doomed nations, Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited forever. It is a promise of God's enduring faithfulness to His covenant people.
Overview
Set against the desolation of Egypt and Edom, this verse promises that Judah and Jerusalem will endure from generation to generation. The pledge of permanence flows from God's covenant faithfulness rather than from Judah's own merit. Its ultimate fulfillment is in the lasting, heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the redeemed gathered in Christ, which abides forever (Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 21).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ezek 37:25They shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever: and David my servant shall be their prince for ever.
- Isa 33:20Look at Zion, the city of our appointed festivals. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tent that won’t be removed. Its stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
- Amos 9:15I will plant them on their land, and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them,” says Yahweh your God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 3:20 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.