Joel 3:12
in Joel 3Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.
KJV
Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
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This verse in Joel 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIt is not only, Come if you dare, but You shall come whether you will or no, for there is no escaping the judgments of God. A charge given to the ministers of God's justice to appear and act against these daring enemies of his kingdom among men: And therefore cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord!
This site's exposition
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles
on Joel 3:9-12
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles, prepare war deliberately inverts the plowshares oracle shared by Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3, beat your swords into plowshares, and your spears into pruninghooks, turning the vision of peace back into a summons to battle, the same reversal aimed at the nations that the earlier prophets aim toward Israel's own future. Let the weak say, I am strong is read by the older writers as either the nations' own false bravado marching to its own doom or an ironic command, the reading stated without settling which. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about names the valley's purpose plainly, a courtroom rather than merely a battlefield, the Lord himself seated as judge over every nation gathered.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 12 and following) Let the nations arise and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Send in the sickles, for the harvest is ripe. Come and go down, for the winepress is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is multiplied. LXX: Let all the nations arise and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Send in the sickles, for the grape harvest is ripe.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The words "come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat" will not gather them and bring them down, but he will let them accomplish their plan. In fact, he talks about the people over whom the house of Gog rules. "To the valley of Jehoshaphat," that …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let them come to the place of God's judgment, which perhaps is the chief reason for the using of this name here, but it is put together as a proper name for the sake of allusions to the place so called, which we observed before; let them come thither where God will sit to judge the heathen, to that throne of glory before which shall be gathered all nations ( Matt. xxv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Let the Heathen be awakened, and come to the valley of Jehoshaphat,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
See Joe 3:2. judge all the heathen round about--that is, all the nations from all parts of the earth which have maltreated Israel; not merely, as HENDERSON supposes, the nations round about Jerusalem (compare Ps 110:6;
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2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Let the heathen be wakened - The heathen shall be wakened. The valley of Jehoshaphat - Any place where God may choose to display his judgments against his enemies.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let the pagan be awakened - This emphatic repetition of the word, “awaken,” seems intended to hint at the great awakening, to Judgment , when they “who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, being awakened” from the sleep of death. Another word is used of “awakening” . On the destruction of antichrist it is thought that the general Judgment will follow, and “all who are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth” Joh 5:27-29: They are bidden to “come up” into the valley of Jehoshaphat , “for to come into the presence of the most High God, may well be called “a coming up.” For there will I sit to judge all the pagan round about,” (again literally “from round about,) from every side,” all nations from all the four quarters of the world. The words are the same as before. There “all nations from every side” were summoned to come, as they thought, to destroy God’s people and heritage. Here the real end is assigned, for which they were brought together, for God would sit to judge them. In their own blind will and passion they came to destroy; in God’s secret overruling Providence, they were dragged along by their passions - to be judged and to be destroyed. So our Lord says, “When the Son of Man shall come in His Glory, and all the Holy Angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His Glory and before Him shall be gathered all nations” Mat 25:31-32. Our Lord, in that He uses words of Joel, seems to intend to direct our minds to the prophet’s meaning. What follows are nearly His own words;
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֵע֙וֹרוּ֙ | yeoru | let them be roused | H5782 → | 80 times |
| וְיַעֲל֣וּ | veyaalu | and they may go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֔ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֵ֖מֶק | ʾemek | [the] valley of | H6010 → | 69 times |
| יְהֽוֹשָׁפָ֑ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁ֗ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אֵשֵׁ֛ב | ʾeshev | I will sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לִשְׁפֹּ֥ט | lishpot | to judge | H8199 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֖ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| מִסָּבִֽיב׃ | misaviv | from round about | H5439 → |
יֵע֙וֹרוּ֙let them be roused
yeoruH5782 →80 times
וְיַעֲל֣וּand they may go up
veyaaluH5927 →890 times
הַגּוֹיִ֔םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֵ֖מֶק[the] valley of
ʾemekH6010 →69 times
יְהֽוֹשָׁפָ֑טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָׁ֗םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
אֵשֵׁ֛בI will sit
ʾeshevH3427 →1079 times
לִשְׁפֹּ֥טto judge
lishpotH8199 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַגּוֹיִ֖םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
מִסָּבִֽיב׃from round about
misavivH5439 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 2:4Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against…
it leads to
- Hosea 2:18
On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish…
- Micah 4:3
Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take…
- Zechariah 9:10
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend…
- Isaiah 11:6–9
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
- Isaiah 60:17–18
Instead of bronze I will bring you gold; I will bring silver in place of iron, bronze instead of wood, and iron instead of stones. I will appoint peace as your governor and righteousness…
- Hosea 2:18
Through
Psalms 96:13before the LORD, for He is coming— He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.
it leads to
- Revelation 19:11
Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.
- Revelation 19:11
Through
Joel 3:2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among…
it leads to
- Zechariah 14:2–4
For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the…
- Zechariah 14:2–4
Through
Psalms 98:9before the LORD, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
it leads to
- Psalms 96:13
before the LORD, for He is coming— He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.
- Psalms 96:13
About Joel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARY ON JOEL; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.