Joel 3 7

Joel 3:7 kjv

Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

Joel 3:7 nkjv

"Behold, I will raise them Out of the place to which you have sold them, And will return your retaliation upon your own head.

Joel 3:7 niv

"See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done.

Joel 3:7 esv

Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head.

Joel 3:7 nlt

"But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done.

Joel 3 verses

Joel 3 7 Meaning

Joel 3:7 proclaims God's decisive and personal intervention in divine judgment against those nations who mistreated His people. It declares that the very people enslaved and sold by foreign powers will be brought back from their captivity by God's direct action. Furthermore, it asserts that the full recompense for their heinous deeds will be directly inflicted upon the heads of the perpetrators, ensuring a just and mirroring retribution for their actions. This verse underscores God's unwavering commitment to justice and His active sovereignty over nations.

Joel 3 7 Context

This verse is situated within Joel chapter 3 (or chapter 4 in Hebrew Bibles), which immediately follows promises of outpouring of God's Spirit and abundant blessings upon His repentant people (Joel 2). Chapter 3 dramatically shifts focus to the "Day of the Lord" as a day of ultimate judgment specifically directed against the nations for their atrocities committed against God's people, Israel.

The specific "crime" addressed in Joel 3:7 directly follows the charges laid out in Joel 3:4-6. These verses accuse powerful neighboring nations (Tyre, Sidon, Philistia) and distant ones (Sabaeans, implicitly in verse 8) of seizing Judah's silver and gold, carrying away their "goodly pleasant things," and selling the people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves to the distant Greeks (or Javan). Joel 3:7 serves as God's powerful declaration of a reversed judgment, a divine "eye for an eye," against these very acts of oppression and slave trade. Historically, the practice of selling captives into slavery was common after conquests in the ancient Near East, and this prophecy speaks directly against such inhumane acts, particularly when perpetrated against God's chosen nation.

Joel 3 7 Word analysis

• Behold, I will stir them up (Hebrew: הִנְנִי֙ מְעוֹרֵ֤ר - hinnēni mᵉ‘ôwrer):

  • Behold (Hinnēni): A forceful Hebrew particle, literally "Here I am," indicating God's immediate, direct, and personal engagement. It conveys absolute certainty and an impending, divinely initiated action.
  • I will stir them up (mᵉ‘ôwrer from עוּר - 'ûr): Implies God's active, intentional rousing, waking up, or awakening. This is not a passive observation but God's sovereign hand moving people or events. It denotes divine causation and power over what appears to be human autonomy or geopolitical forces. Here, it signifies God drawing His people back from their captivity.

• out of the place where ye have sold them, (Hebrew: מִן־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁר־מְכַרְתֶּ֣ם אֹתָ֔ם - min-hammaqôm ’ăšer-məḵartem ’ōṯām):

  • out of the place (min-hammaqôm): Refers specifically to the distant lands where the enslaved people of Judah were taken. It highlights God's omniscience, knowing the exact location of His scattered people, and His omnipotence in reaching into foreign territories.
  • where ye have sold them (’ăšer-məḵartem ’ōṯām): This directly identifies the crime and the perpetrators. makhartem (from מָכַר - māḵar) means "to sell," emphasizing the dehumanizing commercialization of human lives, treating people as mere commodities. It condemns the economic exploitation intertwined with the act of war and plunder.

• and will return your recompense upon your own head. (Hebrew: וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֥י גְמוּלְכֶ֖ם בְּרֹאשְׁכֶֽם - wahašîḇōṯî gəmûlḵem bᵉrō’škem):

  • and will return (wahašîḇōṯî from שׁוּב - šûḇ): Signifies a direct bringing back, often implying restoration or reversal. Here, it denotes God bringing back justice or retribution.
  • your recompense (gəmûlḵem from גְּמוּל - gᵉmûl): A powerful term signifying repayment, reward, or retribution. It denotes a fitting return for one's actions, often implying deserved punishment or judgment that mirrors the deed itself. It's a statement of divine just deserts.
  • upon your own head (bᵉrō’škem): A common biblical idiom meaning directly affecting the person, indicating personal responsibility and the inescapable nature of the consequences. The punishment will fall directly and unequivocally on those who committed the wrong.

• Words-group analysis:

  • The phrase "I will stir them up... and will return your recompense upon your own head" encapsulates the divine principle of lex talionis (measure for measure) or "reaping what you sow." It declares that God's justice is precise, matching the punishment to the crime.
  • The combination of God's active "stirring up" and the explicit mention of "where ye have sold them" contrasts human agency in oppression with divine agency in liberation and retribution. God's act of reversing the enslavement is tied directly to their specific act of selling, highlighting His meticulous justice.

Joel 3 7 Bonus section

This verse beautifully illustrates the theological concept of middah keneged middah ("measure for measure") common in Jewish thought, where God's judgment is precisely calibrated to the sin committed. The specific nature of the crime—selling people into slavery for profit—is met with an equally specific and opposite consequence. This verse serves as a microcosm of the larger theme of the "Day of the Lord" in the prophets, which is God's appointed time to settle accounts with all nations based on their treatment of His covenant people and their overall righteousness. It highlights God's justice not just in saving His people, but also in actively prosecuting and punishing the oppressors, affirming His ultimate control over history and the destiny of nations.

Joel 3 7 Commentary

Joel 3:7 delivers a potent declaration of divine justice and God's unwavering advocacy for His people. It reveals a God who is neither oblivious nor impotent in the face of human wickedness and oppression. He is intimately aware of the specific acts of injustice, down to the "place" where people were sold into slavery. More profoundly, this verse asserts God's direct agency in reversing the oppression. He will not merely observe but actively "stir up" His people from captivity.

The core message lies in the principle of mirroring retribution: the very "recompense" (repayment/retribution) that the nations thought they inflicted upon Israel will be returned "upon their own head." This is not an act of arbitrary vengeance, but a righteous balancing of the scales of justice, perfectly fitting the crime. If they profited from the sale of human beings, they would, in turn, face a form of repayment that matches their own evil deeds. This divine principle underscores the solemn warning to all who oppress and exploit—God holds the ultimate court, and no injustice goes unaddressed in His sovereign plan. The verse thus provides immense comfort to the afflicted and serves as a dire warning to the arrogant, assuring them of God's final, unassailable judgment.