Joel 3:13
“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God commands the harvest of judgment to begin, for the nations' wickedness is fully ripe like grain and grapes ready to be reaped.
What Does Joel 3:13 Mean?
God gives the signal for judgment in the language of harvest. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; tread the winepress, for it is full and the vats overflow. The reason is stated bluntly: their wickedness is great. As a field ready for reaping or grapes ready for the press, the nations' sin has come to full measure, and the time to act has arrived.
The imagery of harvest and winepress for judgment is solemn and vivid; it appears again in the New Testament's vision of the end. It teaches that God's patience has limits and that evil, left to ripen, eventually meets its appointed reckoning. There is a fearful seriousness here, yet also a deep moral order: God does not strike prematurely but waits until wickedness is full. For those who trust Him, the certainty that evil will finally be judged is a comfort. The Lord of the harvest will gather all things to their proper end.