Joel 2:16

2:16 Gather the people;

sanctify an assembly!

Gather the elders;

gather the children and the nursing infants.

Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom

and the bride from her private quarters. ¹ 

Joel 3:18

3:18 On that day ²  the mountains will drip with sweet wine, ³ 

and the hills will flow with milk. ⁴ 

All the dry stream beds ⁵  of Judah will flow with water.

A spring will flow out from the temple ⁶  of the Lord,

watering the Valley of Acacia Trees. ⁷ 

[2:16]  ¹ sn Mosaic law allowed men recently married, or about to be married, to be exempt for a year from certain duties that were normally mandatory, such as military obligation (cf. Deut 20:7; 24:5). However, Joel pictures a time of such urgency that normal expectations must give way to higher requirements.

[3:18]  ² tn Heb “and it will come about in that day.”

[3:18]  ³ tn Many English translations read “new wine” or “sweet wine,” meaning unfermented wine, i.e., grape juice.

[3:18]  ⁴ 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).

[3:18]  ⁵ tn Or “seasonal streams.”

[3:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[3:18]  ⁷ 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.