Joel 3:2 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Joel 3:1 For behold in those days, and in that time when I shall bring back the captivity of Juda, and Jerusalem:

Joel 3:2 I will gather together all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Josaphat: and I will plead with them there for my people, and for my inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have parted my land.

Joel 3:3 And they have cast lots upon my people: and the boy they have put in the stews, and the girl they have sold for wine, that they might drink.

Joel 3:4 But what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coast of the Philistines? will you revenge yourselves on me? and if you revenge yourselves on me, I will very soon return you a recompense upon your own head.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gather", "together", "nations", "bring", "down", "valley", "josaphat", and "plead". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gather" and "together", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "For behold in those days and in..." into verse 3's "And they have cast lots upon my...", so "gather" and "together" 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 "gather" and "together" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.