Joel 3:8 (YLT)

Passage

And have sold your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the sons of Judah, And they have sold them to Shabeans, Unto a nation far off, for Jehovah hath spoken.

Nearby Context

Joel 3:6 And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, Ye have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border.

Joel 3:7 Lo, I am stirring them up out of the place Whither ye have sold them, And I have turned back your recompence on your head,

Joel 3:8 And have sold your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the sons of Judah, And they have sold them to Shabeans, Unto a nation far off, for Jehovah hath spoken.

Joel 3:9 Proclaim ye this among nations, Sanctify a war, stir up the mighty ones, Come nigh, come up, let all the men of war.

Joel 3:10 Beat your ploughshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, `I <FI>am<Fi> mighty.'

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Lo I am stirring them up out..." into verse 9's "Proclaim ye this among nations Sanctify a...", so "sold" 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 "sold" and "sons" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.