Joel 3

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¹“At the time of those events,” says the Lord, “when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, ✦ ²I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land. ✦ ³They threw dice to decide which of my people would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk. ✦ ⁴“What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. ✦ ⁵You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. ✦ ⁶You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland. ✦ ⁷“But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done. ✦ ⁸I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia, a nation far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!” ✦ ⁹Say to the nations far and wide: “Get ready for war! Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack. ✦ ¹⁰Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors. ✦ ¹¹Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.” And now, O Lord, call out your warriors! ✦ ¹²“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. ✦ ¹³Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people.” ✦ ¹⁴Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive. ✦ ¹⁵The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. ✦ ¹⁶The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel. ✦ ¹⁷“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. ✦ ¹⁸In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. Water will fill the streambeds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the Lord’s Temple, watering the arid valley of acacias. ✦ ¹⁹But Egypt will become a wasteland and Edom will become a wilderness, because they attacked the people of Judah and killed innocent people in their land. ✦ ²⁰“But Judah will be filled with people forever, and Jerusalem will endure through all generations. ✦ ²¹I 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.” ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

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.

Where this chapter connects

Joel 3 ·10 Rev 16 ·7 Ezek 38 ·7 Rev 19 ·6 Joel 2 ·6 Zech 14 ·6 Obad 1 ·5 Amos 1 ·5

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Joel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Joel 3YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Joel 3David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Joel 3Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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