Joel 3:8 (ASV)

Passage

and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for Jehovah hath spoken it.

Nearby Context

Joel 3:6 and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye may remove them far from their border;

Joel 3:7 behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head;

Joel 3:8 and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for Jehovah hath spoken it.

Joel 3:9 Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.

Joel 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sell", "sons", "daughters", "hand", "children", "judah", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sell" and "sons", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "behold I will stir them up out..." into verse 9's "Proclaim ye this among the nations prepare...", so "sell" and "sons" belong inside that flow. In Joel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sell" and "sons" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.