Joel 3:18
in Joel 3And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
KJV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
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This verse in Joel 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseIn that day - After their return from their captivities. The mountains shall drop down new wine - A poetic expression for great fertility. Happy times: peace and plenty. The vines shall grow luxuriantly on the sides of the mountains; and the hills shall produce such rich pastures that the flocks shall yield abundance of milk. And all the rivers of Judah - Far from being generally dry in the summer, shall have their channels always full of water.
This site's exposition
The mountains shall drop down new wine
on Joel 3:18-21
The mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk pictures abundance in agricultural terms once more, the same vocabulary chapter 2 used for the locust years reversed, now describing the age the book's judgment opens onto. A fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim gives Ezekiel 47's river from the temple and Zechariah 14:8's living waters an early expression here, Shittim itself the place of Israel's worst apostasy in Numbers 25 now named as ground the temple's own water reaches. Egypt and Edom stand judged for violence against Judah while Judah shall dwell for ever, and the book's last words, for the Lord dwelleth in Zion, close on the same presence Ezekiel's temple vision and Revelation's holy city each return to in their own way, positions on how literally or how far off this reaches held across the tradition without a verdict stamped here.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 18) And it shall come to pass in that day, the mountains shall drip sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah shall flow with water. LXX: And it shall come to pass in that day, the mountains shall drip sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah shall flow with water.
Christ himself is a virgin, and his mother is also a virgin; yes, though she is his mother, she is a virgin still. For Jesus has entered in through the closed doors, and in his sepulcher—a new one hewn out of the hardest rock—no man is laid either before him or after him. Mary is "a garden enclosed … a fountain sealed," and from that fountain flows, according to Joel, the river that waters the torrent bed either of cords or of thorns. The cords [are] those of the sins by which we were beforetime bound, the thorns those which choked the seed the good man of the house had sown.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This no doubt is a shadow of the purifying blood of Christ, and his sanctifying spirit and word. And in that it is said to come from the house of the Lord, it intimates that this saving grace shall be first preached from Jerusalem, and by the church, which is the house of God, shall be published to others.
1 ), and the Spirit to rivers of living water, John vii. And these gifts abound much more under the New Testament than they did under the Old; when believers receive grace for grace from Christ's fulness, when they are enriched with everlasting consolations, and filled with joy and peace in believing, then the mountains drop new wine, and the hills flow with milk.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And it shall come to pass in that day,.... When antichrist shall be destroyed; the Jews converted; the power of godliness revived, and the presence of God among his people enjoyed.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
These promises were not of private interpretation only, but were written for our learning, "that we, through patience and comfort of this scripture, might have hope." Threatenings against Israel's Enemies.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Lord . . . water . . . valley of Shittim--The blessings, temporal and spiritual, issuing from Jehovah's house at Jerusalem, shall extend even to Shittim, on the border between Moab and Israel, beyond Jordan (Nu 25:1; "Shittim" means "acacias," which grow only in arid regions: implying that even the arid desert shall be fertilized by the blessing from Jerusalem.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And it shall come to pass in that Day - After the destruction of antichrist, there will, it seems, still be a period of probation, in which the grace of God will abound and extend more and more widely. The prophet Zechariah, who continues on the image, of the “living waters going out from Jerusalem” Zec 14:8, places this gift after God had gathered all nations against Jerusalem, and had visibly and miraculously overthrown them Zec 14:2-4. But in that the blessings which he speaks of, are regenerating, they belong to time; the fullness of the blessing is completed only in eternity; the dawn is on earth, the everlasting brightness is in heaven. But though the prophecy belongs eminently to one time, the imagery describes the fulness of spiritual blessings which God at all times diffuses in and through the Church; and these blessings, he says, shall continue on in her for ever; her enemies shall be cut off for ever. It may be, that Joel would mark a fresh beginning and summary by his words, “It shall be in that Day.” The prophets do often begin, again and again, their descriptions. Union with God, which is their theme, is one. Every gift of God to His elect, except the beatific vision, is begun in time, union with Himself, indwelling, His Spirit flowing forth from Him into His creatures, His love, knowledge of Him, although here through a glass darkly. The promise cannot relate to exuberance of temporal blessings, even as tokens of God’s favor. For he says, “a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.” But “the valley of Shittim” is on the other side Jordan, beyond the Dead Sea, so that by nature the waters could not flow there. The valley of Shittim or acacia trees is a dry valley, for in such the Easten Acacia, i. e., the sant or sandal wood grows. […]
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֩ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַיּ֨וֹם | vaiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֜וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִטְּפ֧וּ | yitefu | they will drip | H5197 → | |
| הֶהָרִ֣ים | heharim | the mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| עָסִ֗יס | ʾasis | sweet wine | H6071 → | |
| וְהַגְּבָעוֹת֙ | vehagevaot | and the hills | H1389 → | |
| תֵּלַ֣כְנָה | telakhnah | they will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| חָלָ֔ב | chalav | milk | H2461 → | |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲפִיקֵ֥י | ʾafikei | [the] ravines of | H650 → | |
| יְהוּדָ֖ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| יֵ֣לְכוּ | yelekhu | they will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| מָ֑יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | |
| וּמַעְיָ֗ן | uma'yan | and a spring | H4599 → | |
| מִבֵּ֤ית | mibeit | from [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יֵצֵ֔א | yetze' | it will go forth | H3318 → | |
| וְהִשְׁקָ֖ה | vehishkah | and it will water | H8248 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַ֥חַל | nachal | [the] wadi of | H5158 → | |
| הַשִּׁטִּֽים׃ | hashitim | <the> Shittim | H7851 → |
וְהָיָה֩and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בַיּ֨וֹםon the day
vaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֜וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יִטְּפ֧וּthey will drip
yitefuH5197 →
הֶהָרִ֣יםthe mountains
heharimH2022 →546 times
עָסִ֗יסsweet wine
ʾasisH6071 →
וְהַגְּבָעוֹת֙and the hills
vehagevaotH1389 →
תֵּלַ֣כְנָהthey will go
telakhnahH1980 →1546 times
חָלָ֔בmilk
chalavH2461 →
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲפִיקֵ֥י[the] ravines of
ʾafikeiH650 →
יְהוּדָ֖הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
יֵ֣לְכוּthey will go
yelekhuH1980 →1546 times
מָ֑יִםwater
mayimH4325 →
וּמַעְיָ֗ןand a spring
uma'yanH4599 →
מִבֵּ֤יתfrom [the] house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יֵצֵ֔אit will go forth
yetze'H3318 →
וְהִשְׁקָ֖הand it will water
vehishkahH8248 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַ֥חַל[the] wadi of
nachalH5158 →
הַשִּׁטִּֽים׃<the> Shittim
hashitimH7851 →
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
Zechariah 14:8And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.
it leads to
- Revelation 22:1–2
Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- John 7:38
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- John 4:10
Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- Revelation 7:16–17
‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’
- Revelation 22:1–2
Through
Isaiah 35:6Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
it leads to
- John 5:8–9
Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.”
- Luke 11:14
One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed,
- John 7:37–39
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- John 5:8–9
About Joel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; Jerome, LETTERS 48:21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.