About Joel

Joel uses a locust plague to warn of the coming Day of the Lord while promising the outpouring of the Spirit.

Author: JoelWritten: c. 835-796 BCReading time: ~3 minVerses: 21
Day of the LordRepentanceSpiritJudgmentRestorationBlessing

King James Version

Joel 3

21 verses with commentary

Judgment on the Nations

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

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KJV Study Commentary

This verse marks a dramatic eschatological shift signaled by "For, behold" (Hebrew ki hinneh), a prophetic formula announcing divine intervention. The phrase "in those days, and in that time" employs dual temporal markers emphasizing the certainty and specificity of God's appointed moment. This isn't vague future speculation but definite prophecy about the Day of the LORD when God decisively acts ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

III. (1) **That time.—**The whole course of the events of the world is shown to lead up by Divine providence to the Great Day of the Lord, when “the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the Lord shall be exalted.” Then will be “the times of the restitution of all things;” then will the people of God be brought out of captivity, and vengeance executed upon their enemies. ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**27. sanctified in them--**vindicated as holy in My dealings with them.

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

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KJV Study Commentary

This verse describes God gathering all nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment. The phrase "I will also gather all nations" (Hebrew qabats kol-goyim) depicts God's sovereign control over human history. Nations don't assemble by accident or autonomous decision—God orchestrates this gathering for His judicial purposes. The verb qabats (gather, assemble) often describes military mustering (...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(2) **The valley of Jehoshaphat.—**Some fifty years before Joel prophesied the kingdom of Judah had been menaced by an imposing confederacy of hostile tribes. It was an occasion of great anxiety. A national fast was proclaimed, and after it Jehoshaphat engaged and completely routed the enemy in a valley in the wilderness of Tekoa. (See 2 Chronicles 20) The victory was an occasion of immense exulta...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

28. The Jews, having no dominion, settled country, or fixed property to detain them, may return at any time without difficulty (compare Ho 3:4, 5).

And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

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KJV Study Commentary

"And they have cast lots for my people" describes nations gambling for Israelite captives like property. The phrase "and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink" depicts horrific human trafficking—children sold for prostitution and alcohol. This passage establishes God's fierce protection of His people and His meticulous record of injustices committed agains...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(3) **Cast lots** . . .—The nations who oppressed and carried away the Jews treated them as chattels, cast lots for the possession of them as slaves, and purchased a night’s revelry or other indulgence with the captives they had taken.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**29. poured out my Spirit upon ... Israel--**the sure forerunner of their conversion (Joe 2:28; Zec 12:10). The pouring out of His Spirit is a pledge that He will hide His face no more (2Co 1:22; Ep 1:14; Php 1:6).

Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

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KJV Study Commentary

God addresses Tyre, Sidon (Phoenician cities), and Philistia (Palestinian coast): "Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence?" The rhetorical questions challenge their presumption in attacking His people. "And if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head." God promises rapid,...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **What have ye to do with me?**—Rather, *What are ye to me?* God, identifying Himself with His people, threatens retaliation upon their enemies for the wrongs they had inflicted upon them. Tyre and Zidon had oppressed the Jews in the time of the judges, and would do so again: the Philistines also were to the last the inveterate enemies of Israel; but in the end, could they measure strength wit...
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Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: pleasant: Heb. desirable

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Because ye have taken my silver and my gold</strong>—God accuses the Phoenicians and Philistines of plundering temple treasures and covenant wealth. The possessive pronouns "my silver" and "my gold" (Hebrew <em>kaspi uzehavi</em>, כַּסְפִּי וּזְהָבִי) emphasize divine ownership. Though Israel possessed these precious metals, they belonged ultimately to God: "The silver is mine, and the gol...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(5) **My silver.**—Mine, as being the property of my people, not as being dedicated to the service of the Temple. In the time of Jehoram, the Philistines and others had “carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house” (2Chronicles 21:17).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 40 Eze 40:1-49. The Remaining Chapters, the Fortieth through Forty-eighth, Give an Ideal Picture of the Restored Jewish Temple. The arrangements as to the land and the temple are, in many particulars, different from those subsisting before the captivity. There are things in it so improbable physically as to preclude a purely literal interpretation. The general truth seems to hold good th...
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The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians , that ye might remove them far from their border. the Grecians: Heb. the sons of the Grecians

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians</strong>—this verse specifies the human trafficking charge from verse 3. The Hebrew <em>bene Yehudah uvene Yerushalayim</em> (בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה וּבְנֵי יְרוּשָׁלָ ִם) emphasizes covenant identity—these aren't merely random slaves but God's covenant children from His chosen city. The verb <em>makar</em> (מ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(6) **Unto the Grecians.—**Javan, the Hebrew name for Greece, is mentioned in Ezekiel as one of the representatives of the heathen nations who “traded (with Tyre) the persons of men and vessels in her market” (Ezekiel 27:13). The Grecian traffic in slaves was enormous.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**2. visions of God--**divinely sent visions. **very high mountain--**Moriah, very high, as compared with the plains of Babylon, still more so as to its moral elevation (Eze 17:22; 20:40). **by which--**Ezekiel coming from the north is set down at (as the Hebrew for "upon" may be translated) Mount Moriah, and sees the city-like frame of the temple stretching southward. In Eze 40:3, "God brings...
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Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them</strong>—God's reversal begins with <em>hineni</em> (הִנְנִי, "behold, I"), emphasizing His personal, active intervention. The verb <em>me'ir</em> (מֵעִיר, "raise/stir up") from <em>'ur</em> (עוּר) means to awaken, arouse, or stir into action—the same verb used for God raising up deliverers and stirring people to return f...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**3. man--**The Old Testament manifestations of heavenly beings as men prepared men's minds for the coming incarnation. **brass--**resplendent. **line--**used for longer measurements (Zec 2:1). **reed--**used in measuring houses (Re 21:15). It marked the straightness of the walls.

And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah</strong>—the tables are completely turned. The verb <em>makar</em> (מָכַר, "sell"), used in verse 6 for the nations selling Judah's children, now describes God selling the nations' children to Judah. This is precise, poetic justice—the punishment mirrors the crime exactly. Those who commodified and traffick...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **I will sell your sons**. . . .—The Philistines came under the power of Uzziah and Hezekiah, who may have sold them to the Sabeans on the Persian Gulf, by whom they would have been passed on to India. The Philistines were also sold in great numbers by the Grecian conquerors in the time of the Maccabees.

The Valley of Decision

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Prepare: Heb. Sanctify

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war</strong>—God issues an ironic summons to the nations. The verb <em>qara</em> (קָרָא, "proclaim") is the same used for announcing festivals or assemblies, but here it announces war. "Prepare war" (Hebrew <em>qaddeshu milchamah</em>, קַדְּשׁוּ מִלְחָמָה) literally means "consecrate/sanctify war." The verb <em>qadash</em> (קָדַשׁ) means to set ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **Prepare war** . . .—Literally, *sanctify war.* It was to be taken up deliberately, and after due religious rites, according to the customs of the nations. They are thus challenged, or rather summoned, to a trial of strength with Jehovah at a typical “Armageddon.”

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. Measures were mostly taken from the human body. The greater cubit, the length from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, a little more than two feet: exceeding the ordinary cubit (from the elbow to the wrist) by an hand-breadth, that is, twenty-one inches in all. Compare Eze 43:13, with Eze 40:5. The palm was the full breadth of the hand, three and a half inches. **breadth of the buildin...
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Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. pruninghooks: or, scythes

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears</strong>—this verse presents a devastating reversal of Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3, which prophesy messianic peace: "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks." Isaiah and Micah envision eschatological peace when nations abandon warfare for agriculture. Joel inverts this, commanding nati...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(10) **Beat your plowshares** . . .—When the contest was over, and the victory of the Lord achieved, Micah foresaw the reversal of this order: the weapons of offence were once more to resume their peaceful character. “They “—*i.e.*, the nations—“shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**6. the stairs--**seven in number (Eze 40:26). **threshold--**the sill [Fairbairn]. **other threshold--**Fairbairn considers there is but one threshold, and translates, "even the one threshold, one rod broad." But there is another threshold mentioned in Eze 40:7. The two thresholds here seem to be the upper and the lower.

Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. cause: or, the LORD shall bring down

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about</strong>—the threefold summons uses <em>chushu</em> (חוּשׁוּ, "hurry/hasten"), <em>vo'u</em> (בֹאוּ, "come"), and <em>qabetsu</em> (קָבְצוּ, "gather") commanding rapid mobilization. "All ye heathen" (Hebrew <em>kol-hagoyim</em>, כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם) means all the nations/Gentiles—universal assembly for jud...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(11) **Thy mighty ones—***i.e.,* *thy,* because Jehovah had summoned them to take arms, as champions against Him in the final conflict.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**7. chamber--**These chambers were for the use of the Levites who watched at the temple gates; guard-chambers (2Ki 22:4; 1Ch 9:26, 27); also used for storing utensils and musical instruments.

Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat</strong>—the verb <em>ye'oru</em> (יֵעֹרוּ, "be awakened") uses the same root (<em>'ur</em>) as verse 9's "wake up." The nations are summoned from spiritual and moral slumber to face judgment. The command "come up" (<em>ya'alu</em>, יַעֲלוּ) to "the valley of Jehoshaphat" (<em>Emeq Yehoshaphat</em>) brings them to God's c...
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Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe</strong>—God commands His angelic reapers to begin judgment. The Hebrew <em>shilchu maggal</em> (שִׁלְחוּ מַגָּל, "send forth the sickle") uses agricultural imagery for judgment. The <em>maggal</em> (מַגָּל) is a curved harvesting blade for cutting grain. "For the harvest is ripe" (<em>ki vashel qatsir</em>, כִּי בָשֵׁל קָצִיר) uses <em>bashel<...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(13) **Put ye in the sickle.—**In the enthusiasm of his vision the prophet crowds together metaphors to intensify the description of the coming encounter between Jehovah and the enemies of His people. It is represented by the judgment seat, the harvest, and the vintage. The hour of judgment has arrived—Jehovah Himself is judge. The harvest-time, which is the end of the world, has come—let the ange...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9. posts--**projecting column-faced fronts of the sides of the doorway, opposite to one another.

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. decision: or, concision, or, threshing

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision</strong>—the Hebrew <em>hamonim hamonim be'emeq hecharuts</em> (הֲמוֹנִים הֲמוֹנִים בְּעֵמֶק הֶחָרוּץ) uses emphatic repetition. <em>Hamon</em> (הָמוֹן) means multitude, crowd, or throng—vast numbers of people. The doubling emphasizes staggering magnitude—innumerable hosts assembled for judgment. "The valley of decision" (<em>emeq hecharuts<...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(14) **Multitudes.**—The command has gone forth; it is obeyed; and the prophet stands aghast at the vast multitudes assembling in the valley of decision, the place of judgment.

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining</strong>—this verse describes cosmic upheaval accompanying the Day of the LORD. The Hebrew <em>shemesh veyare'ach qadarו vekokavim asefu nogham</em> (שֶׁמֶשׁ וְיָרֵחַ קָדָרוּ וְכוֹכָבִים אָסְפוּ נָגְהָם) depicts the luminaries going dark. The verb <em>qadar</em> (קָדַר) means to be dark, grow dim, mourn—the ...
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The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. hope: Heb. place of repair, or, harbour

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KJV Study Commentary

This verse presents a majestic vision of God as divine warrior defending His people while executing judgment on the nations. The imagery "The LORD also shall roar out of Zion" uses the Hebrew verb sha'ag, which describes a lion's terrifying roar—a sound indicating both power and imminent attack. Amos 1:2 uses identical language, establishing Zion (Jerusalem) as the throne from which God issues jud...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(16) **The Lord also shall roar . . .**—This is the key-note of the prophecy of Amos, who opens his appeal with these words. The majestic roar of the lion is transferred to express victorious utterance of the Lord’s judgment: it is irresistible. As St. Paul wrote, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (1Thessalonians 2...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**12. space--**rather, "the boundary."

So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. holy: Heb. holiness

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain</strong> (viydata'tem ki ani YHWH Eloheikhem shochen be-Tsion har qodshi)—The knowledge of God (da'at) is experiential, not merely intellectual. Israel will know YHWH through His acts of judgment and salvation. God 'dwelling' (shochen) in Zion establishes His real presence—not distant, but enthroned among His p...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(17) **No strangers pass through her.—**Strangers signify the aliens who had hitherto oppressed. They are like the spots and wrinkles which would defile the bride—the Church of God.

Blessings for God's People

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. flow: Heb. go

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine</strong> (ve-hayah va-yom ha-hu yitfefu he-harim asis)—'Drop down' (yitfefu) suggests abundant flow, as if mountains themselves produce wine. 'New wine' (asis) is fresh grape juice, symbolizing blessing. This reverses the drought of Joel 1:10.<br><br><strong>And the hills shall flow with milk, and all the ri...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(18) **The mountains shall drop down new wine.**—The material prosperity depicted in these verses symbolises the glorious reign of Jehovah when the last enemy has been destroyed, and “God is all in all.” **A fountain shall come forth.—**The spiritual fertilising power of the knowledge of the Lord is compared to the life-giving influence of a stream of water, which causes luxuriance to the trees on...
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Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness</strong> (Mitsrayim li-shmamah tihyeh ve-Edom le-midbar shmamah tihyeh)—Judgment on Israel's historical enemies contrasts with Israel's restoration. Egypt enslaved Israel (Exodus 1-12); Edom refused passage (Numbers 20:14-21) and rejoiced at Jerusalem's fall (Obadiah 10-14, Psalm 137:7).<br><br><strong>For the violence ag...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(19) **Egypt shall be a desolation.—**Egypt and Edom always excited feelings of abhorrence in the hearts of the Jews. The memory of the exile in Egypt was always fresh and keen; no retrospect of their past history could leave it out of account. And the national detestation of the false and cruel-hearted Idumæan kinsmen is recalled by Obadiah in his prophecy and touching record; as also in Psalms 1...
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But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. dwell: or, abide

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation</strong> (vi-Yhudah le-olam teshev vi-Yerushalayim le-dor va-dor)—Contrast with Egypt/Edom's desolation. 'Dwell' (teshev) implies secure habitation, not exile. 'For ever' (le-olam) and 'from generation to generation' (le-dor va-dor) promise perpetuity.<br><br>This transcends physical Jerusalem's turbulent history (...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**16. narrow--**latticed [Henderson]. The ancients had no glass, so they had them latticed, narrow in the interior of the walls, and widening at the exterior. "Made fast," or "firmly fixed in the chambers" [Maurer]. **arches--**rather, "porches."

For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. for the: or, even I the LORD that

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed</strong> (ve-niqqeti damam lo niqqeti)—This difficult phrase likely means 'I will avenge blood I have not yet avenged' (ESV, CSB) or 'I will pardon their bloodguilt' (others). The term <em>niqah</em> means 'to be clean/innocent/free from guilt.' God promises either to judge Israel's oppressors for unpunished bloodshed or to purify Isr...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(21) **I will cleanse** . . .—The LXX. translate this sentence, “I will avenge their blood, and not leave it unavenged”—*i.e.,* the “innocent blood” mentioned in Joel 3:19; but the promise seems rather to indicate, as in the English Version, the extension of God’s pardon to those hitherto unpardoned. **The Lord dwelleth in Zion**—*i.e.,* over a raging and swelling world, probably unconscious of Hi...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**17. pavement--**tesselated mosaic (Es 1:6). **chambers--**serving as lodgings for the priests on duty in the temple, and as receptacles of the tithes of salt, wine, and oil.

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