Joel 3:9
in Joel 3Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
KJV
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
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This verse in Joel 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWhen the hour of God's judgment shall come effectual methods shall be taken to gather all nations to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, Rev. xvi. It seems to be here spoken ironically: " Proclaim you this among the Gentiles; let all the forces of the nations be summoned to join in confederacy against God and his people." It is like that, Isa. vii.
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
(V. 9 et seq.) Cry out these things ((or: Cry out this)) among the nations: sanctify war, awaken the strong. Let all men of war come near and ascend. Convert your plows into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' Burst forth and come, all you nations around, and gather together, there the Lord will cause your strong ones ((or: his strong ones)) to fall. LXX: Proclaim these things ((or: Proclaim this)) among the nations: sanctify war, arouse fighters, bring and ascend all men of war.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When God's cause is to be pleaded, either by the law or by the sword, he has those ready that shall please it effectually, witnesses ready to appear for him in the court of judgment, soldiers ready to appear for him in the field of battle. They shall beat ploughshares into swords, if need be. However, it is plain that to them the charge in given (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The nations hostile to Israel are summoned by Jehovah to "come up" (this phrase is used because Jerusalem was on a hill) against Jerusalem, not that they may destroy it, but to be destroyed by the Lord (Eze 38:7-23; Prepare war--literally, sanctify war: because the heathen always began war with religious ceremonies.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Prepare war - Let all the enemies of God and of his people join together; let them even call all the tillers of the ground to their assistance, instead of laboring in the field; let every peasant become a soldier. Let them turn their agricultural implements into offensive weapons, so that the weak, being well armed, may confidently say, I am strong: yet, when thus collected and armed, Jehovah will bring down thy mighty ones; for so the clause in Joe 3:11 should be rendered.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles - God having before said that He would “gather all nations,” now, by a solemn irony, bids them prepare, if, by any means, they can fight against Him.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קִרְאוּ־ | kiru- | proclaim | H7121 → | 733 times |
| זֹאת֙ | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| בַּגּוֹיִ֔ם | bagoyim | among the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| קַדְּשׁ֖וּ | kadeshu | consecrate | H6942 → | 171 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֑ה | milchamah | a war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| הָעִ֙ירוּ֙ | hairu | rouse | H5782 → | 80 times |
| הַגִּבּוֹרִ֔ים | hagiborim | the warriors | H1368 → | 158 times |
| יִגְּשׁ֣וּ | yigeshu | let them draw near | H5066 → | |
| יַֽעֲל֔וּ | yaalu | let them go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | |
| הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃ | hamilchamah | <the> war | H4421 → | 320 times |
קִרְאוּ־proclaim
kiru-H7121 →733 times
זֹאת֙this
zotH2063 →603 times
בַּגּוֹיִ֔םamong the nations
bagoyimH1471 →561 times
קַדְּשׁ֖וּconsecrate
kadeshuH6942 →171 times
מִלְחָמָ֑הa war
milchamahH4421 →320 times
הָעִ֙ירוּ֙rouse
hairuH5782 →80 times
הַגִּבּוֹרִ֔יםthe warriors
hagiborimH1368 →158 times
יִגְּשׁ֣וּlet them draw near
yigeshuH5066 →
יַֽעֲל֔וּlet them go up
yaaluH5927 →890 times
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
אַנְשֵׁ֥י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →
הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃<the> war
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
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
Jeremiah 31:10Hear, O nations, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- Ezekiel 34:12
As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered…
- Deuteronomy 30:4
Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there.
- Isaiah 66:19
I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who…
- Isaiah 40:11
Through
Jeremiah 50:2“Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 46:1
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
- Isaiah 21:9
Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
- Isaiah 46:1
Through
Ezekiel 38:7Get ready; prepare yourself, you and all your company gathered around you; you will be their guard.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 25:8
Even if you go and fight bravely in battle, God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has power to help and power to overthrow.”
- Joel 3:9–12
Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
- 2 Chronicles 25:8
About Joel
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; 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.