The Judgment of the Nations in the Valley of Decision
Joel 3:1-16
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Revelation
Joe.3.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- כן: ADV
- אשפוך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונבאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בניכם: NOUN,m,pl,const+2mp
- ובנותיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss2mp
- זקניכם: NOUN,m,pl,def,poss:2,m,pl
- חלמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יחלמון: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בחוריכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2,mp
- חזינות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Acts 2:16-21 (quotation): Peter explicitly cites Joel’s promise at Pentecost — the outpouring of the Spirit, sons and daughters prophesying, dreams and visions (quotation and fulfillment claim).
- Isaiah 44:3 (verbal): Uses the imagery of God 'pouring out' blessing/Spirit on descendants — a close verbal and thematic echo of divine outpouring on 'all flesh/seed.'
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 (thematic): God promises to give a new heart and put his Spirit within people so they will follow his statutes — a related theme of inward Spirit-giving that effects prophetic/obedient life.
- 1 Samuel 10:6 (verbal): Describes the Spirit of the LORD coming upon a person and causing him to prophesy — a concrete instance linking the Spirit’s arrival with prophetic speech, paralleling Joel’s promise.
Alternative generated candidates
- And afterward I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
- And afterward I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
Joe.3.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וגם: CONJ
- על: PREP
- העבדים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- השפחות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- בימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ההמה: DEM,m,pl
- אשפוך: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
Parallels
- Acts 2:17-18 (quotation): Peter (quoting Joel 2/3) explicitly cites the promise to pour out God's Spirit on 'sons and daughters' and 'servants and handmaids,' presenting Joel's line as fulfilled at Pentecost.
- Acts 2:1-4 (thematic): The Pentecost outpouring of the Spirit on the gathered believers is the narrative fulfillment of Joel's promise to pour out his Spirit in those days.
- Isaiah 44:3 (verbal): Uses similar pouring imagery—'I will pour water' and 'I will pour out my Spirit'—promising the Spirit upon God's people/seed, paralleling Joel's language.
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 (thematic): God's promise to give a new heart and put his Spirit within to enable obedience resonates thematically with Joel's prediction of an outpouring of God's Spirit on people.
Alternative generated candidates
- Even upon the servants and upon the maidservants, in those days I will pour out my spirit.
- Yes, even upon the male and the female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
Joe.3.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- מופתים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ובארץ: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cs
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואש: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותימרות: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- עשן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Acts 2:19-21 (quotation): Peter cites Joel's words about wonders in heaven and signs on earth (including blood and fire) when explaining the Pentecost phenomena (direct quotation/allusion to Joel).
- Revelation 6:12-14 (thematic): Cosmic upheaval—sun darkened, stars fall, heavens roll up—echoes Joel's signs in the heavens and on the earth as marks of the day of the Lord.
- Revelation 8:7 (verbal): Describes 'hail and fire mixed with blood' striking the earth—language closely paralleling Joel's triad of 'blood and fire and pillars of smoke.'
- Isaiah 34:4 (allusion): Pictures the host of heaven dissolved and celestial bodies affected—similar apocalyptic cosmological imagery to Joel's heavenly and earthly signs.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
- And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
Joe.3.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- השמש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יהפך: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- לחשך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והירח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- לדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לפני: PREP
- בוא: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הגדול: ADJ,m,sg,def
- והנורא: ADJ,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Acts 2:20 (quotation): Peter explicitly cites Joel (Joel 2:31/3:4) at Pentecost: 'the sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood... before the great and notable day of the Lord,' using the verse as an eschatological sign.
- Matthew 24:29 (verbal): Jesus foretells cosmic disturbances 'immediately after the tribulation... the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,' echoing Joel's celestial signs before the day of the Lord.
- Mark 13:24-25 (verbal): Mark's apocalypse parallels Matthew and Joel with similar language about the sun darkening and the moon failing to give light as markers of the end-time revelation.
- Revelation 6:12 (allusion): The apocalyptic vision repeats Joel's imagery ('the sun became black as sackcloth... the moon became like blood'), applying the cosmic signs to divine judgment in Revelation.
- Isaiah 13:10 (verbal): An earlier prophetic oracle uses comparable celestial motifs ('the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened'), reflecting a prophetic tradition of cosmic signs accompanying God's judgment that Joel employs.
Alternative generated candidates
- The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
- The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
Joe.3.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יקרא: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ימלט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- בהר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
- ובירושלם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- פליטה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כאשר: CONJ
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ובשרידים: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Joel 2:32 (verbal): The same promise appears earlier in Joel (different numbering in some traditions): 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be delivered'—near-verbatim repetition/parallel within the book, including the motif of Zion/Jerusalem and the called remnant.
- Acts 2:21 (quotation): Peter cites Joel at Pentecost: 'And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,' applying the Joel promise to the outpouring of the Spirit and salvation in the new covenant.
- Romans 10:13 (quotation): Paul directly quotes Joel's line ('For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved') to argue for the universal availability of salvation for all who call on God.
- Romans 9:27 (thematic): Paul (quoting Isaiah) speaks of 'a remnant will be saved,' echoing Joel's emphasis on a surviving remnant ('the remnant whom the LORD shall call')—a shared theme of remnant salvation.
- Zephaniah 3:20 (thematic): Zephaniah promises the restoration and deliverance of Judah and Jerusalem and the gathering of the exiles—paralleling Joel's promise of deliverance on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and the restoration of a called remnant.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be a remnant, as the LORD has said — among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
- And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be a remnant, as the LORD has said—yes, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your elders shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Yes—upon both male and female servants, in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will give signs in the heavens and on the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke.
The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, and among the remnant whom the LORD calls.