New International Version
Joel 3:21
21Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? No, I will not.” The Lord dwells in Zion!
Joel 3:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion."
- New King James Version (NKJV)For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the Lord dwells in Zion.”
- New Living Translation (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.”
Context of Joel 3:21
19But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. 20Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? No, I will not.” The Lord dwells in Zion!
Read all of Joel 3Joel 3:21 word by word
וְנִקֵּ֖יתִי דָּמָ֣ם לֹֽא־נִקֵּ֑יתִי וַֽיהוָ֖ה שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּצִיּֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Joel 3:21
- Isaiah 4:4The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- Ezekiel 36:25I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
- Matthew 27:25All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
- Joel 3:17“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.
- Ezekiel 48:35“The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. “And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there.”
- Revelation 21:3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Commentaries on Joel 3:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21For I will cleanse their blood - נקיתי nikkeythi, I will avenge the slaughter and martyrdom of my people, which I have not yet avenged. Persecuting nations and persecuting Churches shall all come, sooner or later, under the stroke of vindictive justice. For the Lord dwelleth in Zion - He shall be the life, soul, spirit, and defense of his Church for ever. This prophet, who has many things similar to Ezekiel, ends his prophecy nearly in the same way…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21For I will cleanse her blood that I have not cleansed - The word rendered “cleansed” is not used of natural cleansing, nor is the image taken from the cleansing of the body. The word signifies only to pronounce innocent, or to free from guilt. Nor is “blood” used of sinfulness generally, but only of the actual guilt of shedding blood. The whole then cannot be an image taken from the cleansing of physical defilement, like the words in the prophet Ezekiel…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-21Verses 18-21 There shall be abundant Divine influences, and the gospel will spread speedily into the remotest corners of the earth. These events are predicted under significant emblems; there is a day coming, when every thing amiss shall be amended. The fountain of this plenty is in the house of God, whence the streams take rise. Christ is this Fountain; his sufferings, merit, and grace, cleanse, refresh, and make fruitful. Gospel grace, flowing from…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21The end of Joel’s prophecy is the opposite of its beginning. In Joel 1:1–20, Judah’s future seemed uncertain. Plague and drought, signs of divine judgment, threatened Judah’s survival. Now Joel concludes with the divine promise that Judah and Jerusalem will last through all generations. God's people in every era find security in the hope that his kingdom will rule over heaven and earth (see also Isaiah 9:6–7; Daniel 2:44; 7:13–14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. cleanse ... blood ... not cleansed--I will purge away from Judah the extreme guilt (represented by "blood," the shedding of which was the climax of her sin, Is 1:15) which was for long not purged away, but visited with judgments (Is 4:4). Messiah saves from guilt, in order to save from punishment (Mt 1:21).Read the comment
Topics related to Joel 3:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joel 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries