For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Yahweh dwells in Zion.”
- BSB For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.” For the LORD dwells in Zion.
- NKJV For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the Lord dwells in Zion.”
- NASB And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, For the Lord dwells in Zion.
- NLT I will pardon my people’s crimes, which I have not yet pardoned; and I, the Lord, will make my home in Jerusalem with my people.”
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 promises to cleanse the bloodguilt that had remained unavenged, because He dwells in Zion among His people. The book ends on the assurance of God's purifying presence with the redeemed.
Overview
Joel closes with the Lord pledging to cleanse the bloodguilt not yet atoned for, the climactic ground being that Yahweh dwells in Zion. His abiding presence both purifies His people and guarantees justice against their oppressors. This cleansing finds its deepest answer in the blood of Christ, who removes the guilt no other sacrifice could, and in God's promise to dwell forever with His people (Revelation 21:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Rev 21:3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
- Isa 4:4When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
- Ezek 36:25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
- Ezek 36:29I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
- Ezek 48:35It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
- Joel 3:17So 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.
- Matt 27:25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 3:21 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.