Joel 3:2 New English Translation
2 Then I will gather all the nations,
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[a]
I will enter into judgment[b] against them there
concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance,[c]
whom they scattered among the nations.
They partitioned my land,
Footnotes
- Joel 3:2 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 identified the Valley of Jehoshaphat as the Kidron Valley, located between old Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. They supposed it was the “Valley of Berachah [“blessing”],” where King Jehoshaphat defeated his enemies (2 Chr 20:26). Since this is described as a scene of future messianic activity and judgment, many Jews and Muslims have desired to be buried in the Kidron vicinity, and there are many graves in the area. A variation of this view, mentioned by Eusebius (Onomasticon 1:10), is the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the old city, perhaps as a “valley of slaughter” (Jer 7:31-32; 19:5-6). Many modern scholars think Joel’s valley is part of an idealized and nonliteral scene of judgment. Another theory is that there is no reference to the ancient king but to the eschatalogical judgment to occur in the Valley of Esdraelon (Armageddon: Ezek 39:11; Rev 16:16-17; cf. Joel 3:12-21).
- Joel 3:2 tn Heb “I will execute judgment.”
- Joel 3:2 tn Heb “concerning my people and my inheritance Israel.”
New English Translation (NET)
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