New King James Version
Joel 3:2
2I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.
Joel 3:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
- New International Version (NIV)I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,
- New Living Translation (NLT)I 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.
Context of Joel 3:2
1“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. 3They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. 4“Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head;
Read all of Joel 3Joel 3:2 word by word
וְקִבַּצְתִּי֙ אֶת־כָּל־הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וְה֣וֹרַדְתִּ֔ים אֶל־עֵ֖מֶק יְהֽוֹשָׁפָ֑ט וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּ֨י עִמָּ֜ם שָׁ֗ם עַל־עַמִּ֨י וְנַחֲלָתִ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר פִּזְּר֣וּ בַגּוֹיִ֔ם וְאֶת־אַרְצִ֖י חִלֵּֽקוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I will also gatherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- all nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- and will bring them downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
- into the valleyעֵ֫מֶק‛êmeq · Valley (Of Kidron)H6010
- of Jehoshaphatיְהוֹשָׁפָטyehôshâphâţ · (Valley of) JehoshaphatH3092
- and will pleadשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
- with them there for my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- my heritageנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- whom they have scatteredפָּזַרpâzar · to scatterH6340
- and partedחָלַקchâlaq · to divideH2505
- my landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
Cross-references for Joel 3:2
- Zephaniah 3:8“Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.
- Zechariah 14:2For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
- Revelation 16:14For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
- Revelation 19:19And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
- Revelation 20:8and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
- Joel 3:12“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
- 2 Chronicles 20:26And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day.
- Ezekiel 39:11“It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.
- Zechariah 14:4And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
- Isaiah 66:16For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; And the slain of the Lord shall be many.
- Ezekiel 38:22And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
- Amos 1:11Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he pursued his brother with the sword, And cast off all pity; His anger tore perpetually, And he kept his wrath forever.
- Obadiah 1:10“For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever.
- Zechariah 12:3And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
- Revelation 11:18The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
- Revelation 16:6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”
Commentaries on Joel 3:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The valley of Jehoshaphat - There is no such valley in the land of Judea; and hence the word must be symbolical. It signifies the judgment of God, or Jehovah judgeth; and may mean some place (as Bp. Newcome imagines) where Nebuchadnezzar should gain a great battle, which would utterly discomfit the ancient enemies of the Jews, and resemble the victory which Jehoshaphat gained over the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites, 2 Chronicles 20:22-26. And parted my…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2I will gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat - It may be that the imagery is furnished by that great deliverance which God gave to Jehoshaphat, when “Ammon and Moab and Edom come against” him, “to cast God‘s people out of” His “possession,” which “He gave” them “to inherit” 2 Chronicles 20:11, and Jehoshaphat appealed to God, “O our God, wilt Thou not judge them?” and God said, “the battle is not yours but God‘s,” and God…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3The Lord would gather the armies of the world (literally all the nations) in the valley of Jehoshaphat. This valley is not related to King Jehoshaphat of Judah (1 Kings 22:41). Instead, it means “the valley where the Lord judges.” It is the place where God would decide the fate of the nations (see Joel 3:14). The sins of the nations included driving God’s covenant people into exile. They also included abusing helpless boys and girls by selling them as…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Parallel to Zec 14:2, 3, 4, where the "Mount of Olives" answers to the "Valley of Jehoshaphat" here. The latter is called "the valley of blessing" (Berachah) (2Ch 20:26). It lies between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives and has the Kedron flowing through it. As Jehoshaphat overthrew the confederate foes of Judah, namely, Ammon, Moab, &c. (Psa 83:6-8), in this valley, so God was to overthrow the Tyrians, Zidonians, Philistines, Edom, and Egypt, with a…Read the comment
Topics related to Joel 3:2
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 King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries