3:18 On that day 1 the mountains will drip with sweet wine, 2
and the hills will flow with milk. 3
All the dry stream beds 4 of Judah will flow with water.
A spring will flow out from the temple 5 of the Lord,
watering the Valley of Acacia Trees. 6
9:13 “Be sure of this, 7 the time is 8 coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper 9
and the one who stomps the grapes 10 will overtake 11 the planter. 12
Juice will run down the slopes, 13
it will flow down all the hillsides. 14
9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; 15
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble 16 and settle down. 17
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; 18
they will grow orchards 19 and eat the fruit they produce. 20
1 tn Heb “and it will come about in that day.”
2 tn Many English translations read “new wine” or “sweet wine,” meaning unfermented wine, i.e., grape juice.
3 sn The language used here is a hyperbolic way of describing both a bountiful grape harvest (“the mountains will drip with juice”) and an abundance of cattle (“the hills will flow with milk”). In addition to being hyperbolic, the language is also metonymical (effect for cause).
4 tn Or “seasonal streams.”
5 tn Heb “house.”
6 tn Heb “valley of Shittim.” The exact location of the Valley of Acacia Trees is uncertain. The Hebrew word שִׁטִּים (shittim) refers to a place where the acacia trees grow, which would be a very arid and dry place. The acacia tree can survive in such locations, whereas most other trees require more advantageous conditions. Joel’s point is that the stream that has been mentioned will proceed to the most dry and barren of locations in the vicinity of Jerusalem.
7 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
8 tn Heb “the days are.”
9 sn The plowman will catch up to the reaper. Plowing occurred in October-November, and harvesting in April-May (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109.) But in the future age of restored divine blessing, there will be so many crops the reapers will take all summer to harvest them, and it will be time for plowing again before the harvest is finished.
10 sn When the grapes had been harvested, they were placed in a press where workers would stomp on them with their feet and squeeze out the juice. For a discussion of grape harvesting technique, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-12.
11 tn The verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation from the parallel line.
12 sn The grape harvest occurred in August-September, planting in November-December (see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 109). But in the future age described here there will be so many grapes the workers who stomp them will still be working when the next planting season arrives.
13 tn Or “hills,” where the vineyards were planted.
14 tn Heb “and all the hills will melt.”
15 tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).
16 tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”
17 tn Or “and live [in them].”
18 tn Heb “drink their wine.”
19 tn Or “gardens.”
20 tn Heb “eat their fruit.”
21 sn This expostulation best fits the whole preceding description of God’s eschatological work on behalf of his people. His goodness is especially evident in his nurturing of the young men and women of his kingdom.