Deuteronomy 33:2

33:2 He said:

A Historical Review

The Lord came from Sinai

and revealed himself ¹  to Israel ²  from Seir.

He appeared in splendor ³  from Mount Paran,

and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. ⁴ 

With his right hand he gave a fiery law ⁵  to them.

Joel 3:11

3:11 Lend your aid ⁶  and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves ⁷  to that place.”

Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! ⁸ 

Joel 3:1

The Lord Plans to Judge the Nations

3:1 (4:1) ⁹  For look! In those ¹⁰  days and at that time

I will return the exiles ¹¹  to Judah and Jerusalem. ¹² 

Joel 3:13

3:13 Rush forth with ¹³  the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!

Come, stomp the grapes, ¹⁴  for the winepress is full!

The vats overflow.

Indeed, their evil is great! ¹⁵ 

Joel 3:2

3:2 Then I will gather all the nations,

and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. ¹⁶ 

I will enter into judgment ¹⁷  against them there

concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, ¹⁸ 

whom they scattered among the nations.

They partitioned my land,

Joel 1:7-10

1:7 They ¹⁹  have destroyed our ²⁰  vines; ²¹ 

they have turned our ²²  fig trees into mere splinters.

They have completely stripped off the bark ²³  and thrown them aside;

the ²⁴  twigs are stripped bare. ²⁵ 

A Call to Lament

1:8 Wail ²⁶  like a young virgin ²⁷  clothed in sackcloth,

lamenting the death of ²⁸  her husband-to-be. ²⁹ 

1:9 No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings

to the temple ³⁰  of the Lord anymore. ³¹ 

So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.

1:10 The crops of the fields ³²  have been destroyed. ³³ 

The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.

The fresh wine has dried up;

the olive oil languishes.

[33:2]  ¹ tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).

[33:2]  ² tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.

[33:2]  ³ tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[33:2]  ⁴ tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.

[33:2]  ⁵ tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.

[3:11]  ⁶ tn This Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ (’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).

[3:11]  ⁷ tc The present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavÿtsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו) consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ (vÿniqbbatsu) of the MT.

[3:11]  ⁸ tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O Lord, your warriors,” understanding it to be a later addition. But this is unnecessary. Contrary to what some have suggested, a prayer for the Lord’s intervention is not out of place here.

[3:1]  ⁹ sn Joel 3:1 in the English Bible is 4:1 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note at 2:28.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tc The MT and LXX read “in those days,” while MurXII reads “in that day.”

[3:1]  ¹¹ tc The Kethib reads אָשִׁיב (’ashiv, “return the captivity [captives]), while the Qere is אָשׁוּב (’ashuv, “restore the fortunes”). Many modern English versions follow the Qere reading. Either reading seems to fit the context. Joel refers to an exile of the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem in 3:2-6 and their return from exile in 3:7. On the other hand, 2:25-26 describes the reversal of judgment and restoration of the covenant blessings. However, the former seems to be the concern of the immediate context.

[3:1]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “send.”

[3:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ¹⁵ sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).

[3:2]  ¹⁶ sn There is a play on words here. Jehoshaphat in Hebrew means “the Lord has judged,” and the next line in v. 2 further explicates this thought. The location of this valley is uncertain (cf. v. 12). Many interpreters have understood the Valley of Jehoshaphat to be the Kidron Valley, located on the east side of old Jerusalem. Since this is described as a scene of future messianic activity and judgment, many Jews and Muslims have desired to be buried in the vicinity, a fact attested to in modern times by the presence of many graves in the area. A variation of this view is mentioned by Eusebius, Onomasticon 1:10. According to this view, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is located in the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the old city. Yet another view is held by many modern scholars, who understand the reference to this valley to be one of an idealized and nonliteral scene of judgment.

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will execute judgment.”

[3:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “concerning my people and my inheritance Israel.”

[1:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it.” Throughout vv. 6-7 the Hebrew uses singular forms to describe the locust swarm, but the translation uses plural forms because several details of the text make more sense in English as if they are describing the appearance and effects of individual locusts.

[1:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my.”

[1:7]  ²¹ tn Both “vines” and “fig trees” are singular in the Hebrew text, but are regarded as collective singulars.

[1:7]  ²² tn Heb “my.”

[1:7]  ²³ tn Heb “it has completely stripped her.”

[1:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “her.”

[1:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “grow white.”

[1:8]  ²⁶ sn The verb is feminine singular, raising a question concerning its intended antecedent. A plural verb would be expected here, the idea being that all the inhabitants of the land should grieve. Perhaps Joel is thinking specifically of the city of Jerusalem, albeit in a representative sense. The choice of the feminine singular verb form has probably been influenced to some extent by the allusion to the young widow in the simile of v. 8.

[1:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “a young woman” (TEV, CEV). See the note on the phrase “husband-to-be” in the next line.

[1:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “over the death of.” The term “lamenting” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[1:8]  ²⁹ sn Heb “the husband of her youth.” The woman described here may already be married, so the reference is to the death of a husband rather than a fiancé (a husband-to-be). Either way, the simile describes a painful and unexpected loss to which the national tragedy Joel is describing may be compared.

[1:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “house.” So also in vv. 13, 14, 16.

[1:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “grain offering and drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord,”

[1:10]  ³² tn Heb “the field has been utterly destroyed.” The term “field,” a collective singular for “fields,” is a metonymy for crops produced by the fields.

[1:10]  ³³ tn Joel uses intentionally alliterative language in the phrases שֻׁדַּד שָׂדֶה (shuddad sadeh, “the field is destroyed”) and אֲבְלָה אֲדָמָה (’avlah ’adamah, “the ground is in mourning”).