Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.
Parallel Translations
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Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.
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Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
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(4-11) Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together; thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD!
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Joel 3:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 13:3 I have commanded my consecrated ones; yes, I have called my mighty men for my anger, even my proudly exulting ones.
- Zephaniah 3:8 “Therefore wait for me”, says Yahweh, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
- Isaiah 10:34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
- Isaiah 37:36 Then Yahweh’s angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
- Ezekiel 38:9-18 You will ascend. You will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.” “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. You will say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take the plunder and to take prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are inhabited, and against the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.’ Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, will ask you, ‘Have you come to take the plunder? Have you assembled your company to take the prey, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and tell Gog, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “In that day when my people Israel dwells securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land. It will happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in you, Gog, before their eyes.” “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Are you he of whom I spoke in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring you against them? It will happen in that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that my wrath will come up into my nostrils.
- Joel 3:2 I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land,
- Micah 4:12 But they don’t know the thoughts of Yahweh, neither do they understand his counsel; for he has gathered them like the sheaves to the threshing floor.
- Zechariah 14:2-3 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire,
- Revelation 16:14-16 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty. “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.” He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, “Megiddo”.
- Revelation 19:14 The armies which are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in white, pure, fine linen.
- Revelation 19:19-20 I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army. The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
- Revelation 20:8-9 and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. They went up over the width of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God and devoured them.
- Psalms 103:20 Praise Yahweh, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain At length he concludes, There will Jehovah overthrow thy…
At length he concludes, There will Jehovah overthrow thy mighty ones. Though the Prophet uses the singular number, “thy”, he no doubt refers to the whole earth; as though he said, “Whatever enemies there may be to my people, I will cut them down, however strong they may be.” We now perceive that everything the Prophet has hitherto said has been for this end — to show, that God takes care of the safety of his Church, even in its heaviest afflictions, and that he will be the avenger of wrongs, after having for a time tried the patience of his people and chastised their faults — that there will be a turn in the state of things, so that the condition of the Church will be ever more desirable, even under its greatest evils, than of those whom the Lord bears with and indulges, and on whom he does not so quickly take vengeance.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Joe 3:11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen,…
Joe 3:11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Ver. 11. Assemble yourselves, and come all ye heathen] Come and fetch your bane, whereof by your forwardness to come uncalled ye may seem to be ambitious; judgments need not go to find you out; for you associate yourselves, that ye may be broken in pieces, Isa 8:9, as at Armageddon, Rev 16:16. Come on, therefore, since you will needs be so mad, and take what befalls you. "Who would set the briars and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together," Isa 27:4; see Zec 14:2-3 Eze 38:4; Eze 38:16-23 Rev 19:17-18. {See Trapp on "Zec 14:2"} {See Trapp on "Zec 14:3"} The word hero Englished assemble is by Jarchi rendered festinate, hasten; by others conglobamini, cluster together, that ye may be the sooner cut off, that the mouth of God s sword may have its full bit, that he may make an utter end, and your affliction may not rise up the second time, Nah 1:9.
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Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down] Vel angeles vel alios, saith Mercer, either thine angels (called God’s mighties, Psa 103:20 Isa 10:34 Psa 18:17, where these "mighty ones" are said to make Sion as dreadful to all her enemies as these angels made Sinai at the delivery of the law) or other thine officers and executioners, that by thy command they may fall on, and destroy these heathen armies, see Joe 3:13; the answer to this prayer of the prophet, and the power of prayer which Luther fitly calleth bombardas et instrumenta bellica Christianorum, the great ordnance and warlike weapons of Christians.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Assemble yourselves; the war proclaimed, Joe 3:9, pro vision…
Assemble yourselves; the war proclaimed, Joe 3:9, pro vision made, Joe 3:10, now hasten to the general rendezvous; embody yourselves as you march, and hasten what you can, as the word imports.
Come all; not simply and in utmost latitude, but all that are here concerned.
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Gather yourselves together round about; all round about Judea, the nations near about this valley of vision.
Thither, toward Judea and Jerusalem, the church and heritage of God, cause thy mighty ones to come down; direct and lead them by thy providence, that they may pitch their tents, or encamp there; let all thy mighty ones, whether enemies of thy church gathered against it, or friends of thy church, and gathered for its defence, let them all here encamp; or all those mighty warriors which thou wilt make use of successively to punish the proud oppressors of thy church; so the Chaldeans punished Assyria, Persians and Medes punished Babylon, Alexander punished the Persians, and the divided captains successors plagued one another with wars within sight, as it were, of Jerusalem and Judah.
O Lord; with which the prophet comforts himself and God’s people, intimating that all these mighty ones are under God’s conduct, and he is in the midst of them to save his own people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Assemble yourselves,.... From divers parts into one place: "be…
Assemble yourselves,.... From divers parts into one place: "be ye gathered"; or "gather yourselves together", as the Targum and Kimchi; get together in a body, muster up all the forces you can collect together, Jarchi, from Menachem, by the change of a letter, renders it, "make ye haste"; lose time in preparing for this battle; get men, and arms for them, as fast as you can; be as expeditious as possible:
and come, all ye Heathen; antichristian nations, Mahometan or Papal; which latter, especially, are sometimes called Heathen and Gentiles, because of the Heathenish rites introduced into their worship, Psa 10:16;
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and gather yourselves round about: from all parts, to the valley of Jehoshaphat or Armageddon, Rev 16:14; this is spoken ironically to them, to use their utmost endeavours to get most powerful armies against the people of God, which would be of no avail, but issue in their own destruction; or it may signify what should be done by the providence of God, bringing such large numbers of them together to their own ruin:
thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord; which is a prayer of the prophet, or of the church, to God, that he would send down his mighty ones, the angels that excel in strength, and destroy this great army thus gathered together, as an angel in one night destroyed the army of Sennacherib. So Kimchi and Aben Ezra interpret if of angels, and many other interpreters; but perhaps it may be better to understand it of Christian princes and their forces, those armies clothed in white, and riding on white horses, in token of victory; with Christ at the head of them, Rev 19:14; who may be said to be caused to "come down"; because, being assembled shall go down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, where their enemies are gathered together, and discomfit them, The Targum is,
"there the Lord shall, break the strength of their strong ones.''
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Round about - All round about Judah. Thither -…
Round about - All round about Judah. Thither - Toward Jerusalem; the church and heritage of God. Thy mighty ones - All those mighty warriors whom thou wilt make use of successively to punish the oppressors of thy church.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joe 3:11-12. Thither cause thy mighty ones to come…
Joe 3:11-12. Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord — After the prophet has given warning, in the way of irony, to the nations to provide for their defence by all possible means, and to assemble themselves together from all parts, that they might strive with their united force; he, in the conclusion of the verse, calls upon God to cause those to come whom he had appointed to overcome these nations. Some, however, render the clause, the Lord shall cause thy mighty ones to come down, or to be brought low. Let the heathen be awakened — Let their courage be roused up; and come to the valley of Jehoshaphat — To the place of divine judgment.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Once more all the enemies of God are summoned…
Once more all the enemies of God are summoned together. “Assemble yourselves,” (Others in the same sense render, “Haste ye,) and come, all ye pagan, round about,” literally “from round about,” i. e., from every side, so as to compass and hem in the people of God, and then, when the net had been, as it were, drawn closer and closer round them, and no way of escape is left, the prophet prays God to send His aid; “thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.” Against “the mighty ones” of the earth, or “the weak” who “say” they are “mighty,” (the same word is used throughout,) there “come down the mighty ones of God.” The “mighty ones of God,” whom He is prayed to “cause to come down,” i. e., from heaven, can be no other than the mighty angels, of whom it is said, they “are mighty in strength” Psa 103:20 (still the same word,) to whom God gives “charge over” Psa 91:11. His own, “to keep” them “in all” their “ways,” and one of whom, in this place, killed “one hundred and fourscore and five thousand” 2Ki 19:35 of the Assyrians. So our Lord saith, “The Son of man shall send forth His Angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity” Mat 13:41.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Down. Many perished in Egypt, the rest in Judea,…
Down. Many perished in Egypt, the rest in Judea, ver. 2.
Valley, at Jezrahel, the valley of destruction, ver. 14.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Assemble--"Hasten" [MAURER].
Assemble--"Hasten" [MAURER].
thither--to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
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thy mighty ones--the warriors who fancy themselves "mighty ones," but who are on that very spot to be overthrown by Jehovah [MAURER]. Compare "the mighty men" (Joe 3:9). Rather, Joel speaks of God's really "mighty ones" in contrast to the self-styled "mighty men" (Joe 3:9; Psa 103:20; Isa 13:3; compare Dan 10:13). AUBERLEN remarks: One prophet supplements the other, for they all prophesied only "in part." What was obscure to one was revealed to the other; what is briefly described by one is more fully so by another. Daniel calls Antichrist a king, and dwells on his worldly conquests; John looks more to his spiritual tyranny, for which reason he adds a second beast, wearing the semblance of spirituality. Antichrist himself is described by Daniel. Isaiah (Isa. 29:1-24), Joel (Joel 3:1-21) describe his army of heathen followers coming up against Jerusalem, but not Antichrist himself.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. Assemble yourselves] The word is found only here,…
11. Assemble yourselves] The word is found only here, and its meaning is very uncertain. A.V. follows LXX., Targ., Syr., Ibn Ezra, and Kimchi; but the rendering rests upon no philological basis, and is merely conjectured from the context. It is best to suppose an error in the text, and for עושו to read חושו, Hasten.
all ye nations (Joe_3:2) round about, and gather yourselves together] In Eze_36:4; Eze_36:7 the nations round about Israel are its more immediate neighbours; but the context (Joe_3:2; Joe_3:9; Joe_3:12 a) shews that the expression is meant here more generally.
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thither cause thy mighty ones (or warriors) to come down] the prophet suddenly turns aside to address Jehovah: he has bidden the nations assemble, for the contest against Israel, in the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joe_3:2; Joe_3:12): he now prays Jehovah to cause His warriors also to descend thither to meet them. The mighty ones are, no doubt, the angelic hosts (Psa_68:17; Zec_14:5), whom Joel pictures as the agents of Jehovah’s will, and who are called in Psa_103:20 the “mighty in strength.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) Thy mighty ones—i.e., thy, because Jehovah had summoned…
(11) Thy mighty ones—i.e., thy, because Jehovah had summoned them to take arms, as champions against Him in the final conflict.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain This verse expresses the precipitancy with which the procession…
This verse expresses the precipitancy with which the procession of the hostile nations is hurried on in order to meet their doom, as also the prophet"s prayer for the descent of Jehovah"s mighty ones to the slaughter. Assemble yourselves, and come. It is rather, hasten, and come; the word WvW, only occurring here, being equivalent to WvWj, equivalent to "hasten ye." The LXX and Chaldee, indeed, favour the sense of "assemble;" the former has sunayroizesye . But that idea is expressed afterwards by the verb WxBq, which is an anomalous form of the imperative Niph. for wxbQhi, though some take it for the perfect with vau consec. The word hanchath is usually and properly taken as the imperative Hiph., from nachath, to come down, the pathach taking the place of tzere on account of the guttural and the nun retained without assimilation, as the nun rarely falls away in verbs that have a guttural for their second stem-letter. The meaning
(1) then, is, "Assemble yourselves." The margin,
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(2) however, has, "The Lord shall bring down," i.e. cause to succumb, destroy, "thy mighty ones," which must then signify "the mighty ones of the enemy.
This, though supported by the Chaldee, Syriac, Vulgate, and Jerome, is less simple and obvious, necessitating also a corresponding change of the verbal form into tjinji or tyjinhi. The LXX rendering is peculiar, and as follows: "Let the meek become a warrior."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues the speech he began in Joel 2:25, promising good things for the people of Israel.
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Hurry and come ... together there
These words continue the ironic call to battle that begins in Joel 3:9. (See: Irony)
gather yourselves together
The purpose of the gathering is for battle. This can be stated explicitly. AT: "gather yourselves together for battle" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Yahweh, bring down your mighty warriors
Possible meanings are 1) Joel is telling the people of Judah that this is what they are to "proclaim among the nations" (Joel 3:9) or 2) Joel interrupts the words of Yahweh and prays a short prayer.
translationWords
might
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.