3:3 and they cast lots for my people.
They traded 1 a boy for a prostitute;
they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. 2
3:4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? 3
Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? 4
I will very quickly repay you for what you have done! 5
1 tn Heb “gave.”
2 sn Heb “and they drank.” Joel vividly refers to a situation where innocent human life has little value; its only worth is its use in somehow satisfying selfish appetites of wicked people who have control over others (cf. Amos 2:6 and 8:6).
3 tn Heb “What [are] you [doing] to me, O Tyre and Sidon?”
4 tn Or “districts.”
5 tn Heb “quickly, speedily, I will return your recompense on your head.” This is an idiom for retributive justice and an equitable reversal of situation.