Joel 3:20-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 3:20-21

The contrast which these verses present to what precedes is very striking. While Egypt and Edom are devoted to desolation and destruction, Judah, personified, shall dwell (margin, abide ), and Jerusalem, or rather, as we think, Judah shall be dwelt in, as also its capital, from generation to generation. In the concluding verse a reason is assigned. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed . The blood shed by the Egyptians and Edomites is proved by Jehovah to be innocent... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joel 3:20

Judah shall dwell for ever - Not earthly Judah, nor earthly Jerusalem, for these must come to an end, together with the earth itself, of whose end the prophets well knew. It is then the one people of God, the true Judah, the people who praise God, the Israel, which is indeed Israel. Egypt and Edom and all the enemies of God should come to an end; but His people shall never come to an end. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against her.” The enemy shall not destroy her; time shall not consume... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joel 3:21

For I will cleanse her blood that I have not cleansed - The word rendered “cleansed” is not used of natural cleansing, nor is the image taken from the cleansing of the body. The word signifies only to pronounce innocent, or to free from guilt. Nor is “blood” used of sinfulness generally, but only of the actual guilt of shedding blood. The whole then cannot be an image taken from the cleansing of physical defilement, like the words in the prophet Ezekiel, “then washed I thee with water; yea, I... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joel 3:19-20

Joel 3:19-20. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom, &c. These two people were remarkable for the spite they bore to the Jews. The Egyptians were their oppressors when they first became a nation, and afterward exercised great cruelties upon them, during the reign of the Egyptian kings who were Alexander’s successors. The Idumeans are often reproved and threatened with judgments by the prophets, for the malice they took all occasions to vent against the Israelites, though nearly related... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joel 3:21

Joel 3:21. I will cleanse their blood, &c. The word blood seems here to signify pollution in general; and the promise implies, that God would perfectly purge away the guilt and defilement of all the sins of his people, by a free pardon and entire sanctification. Calmet, who applies this to the times of the gospel, thus interprets the verse: “Jesus Christ cleanses, by the new law, the blood which remained unclean under the old. We find in the sacrament of the new law that real purity,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joel 3:16-21

Blessings for God’s people (3:16-21)The time of God’s judgment on his enemies is also the time of his deliverance of Jerusalem. He protects his people from punishment, purifies them from uncleanness, and gives them peace and prosperity (16-18). Having punished all enemies (symbolized here by Egypt and Edom), God now dwells among his people for ever. The persecutors receive their just punishment, but the righteous enter into eternal life (19-21).The day of the LordIn his book Joel has shown how... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Joel 3:20

dwell = remain, or be established. read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Joel 3:21

cleanse . . . cleansed = clear . . . cleared. This could be done only by avenging it; for God will "by no means clear the guilty" (Exodus 34:7 . Numbers 14:18 ); and Egypt, Edom, &c., were guilty (Joel 3:19 ), and are not to be cleansed", but punished for shedding Judah's blood. The Hebrew nakah is not used of cleansing, naturally or ceremonially. Not the same word as Isaiah 4:4 . The Septuagint and Syriac render it "make inquisition for" in 2 Kings 9:7 ; and evidently read nakam = to... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joel 3:20

"But Judah shall abide for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.Judah and Jerusalem here, as frequently, are symbols of God's true Israel upon earth (both the old and the new), that is, God's true covenant people of both the O.T. and the N.T. It is the perpetual continuation of God's covenant people upon earth which is indicated by this, and the words may not be applied carnally to any heavenly guarantee of the inviolability of the secular state, whether that of Israel, or any... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joel 3:21

"And I will cleanse their blood which I have not cleansed: for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion.As Myers pointed out, "The Lord dwells in Zion" is almost a signature of validity with which Joel closes his book."[31] This word is one of assurance and encouragement and a guarantee of the eternal continuity and abiding presence of the Lord among his people. They will never be deserted or forsaken. No matter what may happen around them, nothing can really happen to them; for they are God's! Myers also... read more

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