Joel 3:9
What does Joel 3:9 mean?
A plain-English look at Joel 3:9 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Joel 3:9 means
God Himself orders the nations to ready for war: “prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near.” The summons sounds like a rallying cry, but it is really a subpoena. The Lord calls them to the field where He will judge them. He grants them no excuse—time to muster, to arm, to gather their best. Yet all their preparation only ushers them into His presence. The irony is sharp: they assemble to display strength, but in truth they are being gathered by the Sovereign who will weigh and break that strength. Their pride becomes the means of their exposure.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Give this out among the nations; make ready for war: get the strong men awake; let all the men of war come near, let them come up.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Proclaim ye this among nations, Sanctify a war, stir up the mighty ones, Come nigh, come up, let all the men of war.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Proclaim ye this among the nations: Prepare war, raise up the strong: let them come, let all the men of war come up.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Proclaim this among the nations: prepare war, arouse the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
Context
Having settled accounts with near neighbors, the prophecy widens to “all nations.” The tone shifts from accusation to command, as God orchestrates the convergence. The next verse (10) intensifies the muster, calling for total mobilization—even turning farm tools into weapons and weaklings into would-be warriors. This sets the stage for God to confront the fullest array of human power.
v.8and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for Jehovah hath spoken it.
v.9This passage
v.10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 38:7
Be thou prepared, yea, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy companies that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
- Psalms 96:10
Say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth: The world also is established that it cannot be moved: He will judge the peoples with equity.
- Isaiah 8:9
Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces.
- Ezekiel 21:21
For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.
- Jeremiah 50:2
Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed; her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.
- Jeremiah 31:10
Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
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