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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joel 3:18-21

These promises with which this prophecy concludes have their accomplishments in part in the kingdom of grace, and the comforts and graces of all the faithful subjects of that kingdom, but will have their full accomplishment in the kingdom of glory; for, as to the Jewish church, we know not of any event concerning that which answers to the extent of these promises, and what instances of peace and prosperity they were blessed with, which they may be supposed to be a hyperbolical description of,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joel 3:18

And it shall come to pass in that day ,.... When antichrist shall be destroyed; the Jews converted; the power of godliness revived, and the presence of God among his people enjoyed. Vitringa, in his Commentary on Isaiah, frequently applies this, and such like prophecies, to the times of the Maccabees; though, he owns, they were but an emblem of better times under the Gospel dispensation; nor does he deny the mystical and spiritual sense of them; that the mountains shall drop down new... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joel 3:19

Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness ,.... These two nations having been the implacable enemies of Israel, are here put for the future adversaries of the church of Christ, Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan; who will all be destroyed as such, and be no more: Rome is called, spiritually or mystically, Egypt, Revelation 11:8 ; and Edom is a name that well agrees with it, it signifying "red", as it is with the blood of the saints: and it is common, with the Jewish... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joel 3:20

But Judah shall dwell for ever ,.... The converted Jews shall dwell in their own land for ever, to the end of the, world and never more be carried captive, Ezekiel 37:25 ; and the true professing people of God, as Judah signifies, shall continue in a church state, evermore, and never more be disturbed by any enemies, they shall dwell safely and peaceably to the end of time: and Jerusalem from generation to generation ; shall dwell so in like manner, age after age; that is, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joel 3:21

For I will cleanse their blood which I have not cleansed ,.... Which some understand, as the Targum, of the Lord's, inflicting further punishments on the, enemies of his people, for shedding their innocent blood; and that he will not expiate their sins, nor hold them guiltless, or suffer them to go unpunished; but rather this is to be interpreted in a way of grace and mercy, as a benefit bestowed on Judah and Jerusalem, who are the immediate antecedents to the relative here; and in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 3:18

In that day - After their return from their captivities. The mountains shall drop down new wine - A poetic expression for great fertility. Happy times: peace and plenty. The vines shall grow luxuriantly on the sides of the mountains; and the hills shall produce such rich pastures that the flocks shall yield abundance of milk. And all the rivers of Judah - Far from being generally dry in the summer, shall have their channels always full of water. And a fountain shall come forth of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 3:19

Egypt shall be a desolation - While peace, plenty, and prosperity of every kind, shall crown my people, all their enemies shall be as a wilderness; and those who have used violence against the saints of God, and shed the blood of innocents (of the holy Martyrs) in their land, when they had political power; these and all such shall fall under the just judgments of God. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 3:20

But Judah shall dwell for ever - The true Church of Christ shall be supported, while all false and persecuting Churches shall be annihilated. The promise may also belong to the full and final restoration of the Jews, when they shall dwell at Jerusalem as a distinct people professing the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 3:21

For I will cleanse their blood - נקיתי nikkeythi , I will avenge the slaughter and martyrdom of my people, which I have not yet avenged. Persecuting nations and persecuting Churches shall all come, sooner or later, under the stroke of vindictive justice. For the Lord dwelleth in Zion - He shall be the life, soul, spirit, and defense of his Church for ever. This prophet, who has many things similar to Ezekiel, ends his prophecy nearly in the same way: Ezekiel says of the glory of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 3:18

Verse 18 The Prophet here declares that God will be so bountiful to his people, that no good things will be wanting to them either in abundance or variety. When God then shall restore his Church, it will abound, he says, in every kind of blessing: for this is the meaning of this language, Distill new wine shall the mountains, and the hills shall make milk to run down; and all rivers also shall have abundant waters, and a fountain shall arise from the house of Judah to irrigate the valley of... read more

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