Joel 3:3 (KJV)

Passage

And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

Nearby Context

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

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

Joel 3:3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

Joel 3:4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

Joel 3:5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "cast", "lots", "people", "given", "harlot", "sold", "girl", and "wine". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "cast" and "lots", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "I will also gather all nations and..." into verse 4's "Yea and what have ye to do...", so "cast" and "lots" 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 "cast" and "lots" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.