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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →God will gather all nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat to judge them for scattering His people and dividing His land.
What Does Joel 3:2 Mean?
God announces a great assize. He will gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, there to plead, to enter into judgment, with them. The charge is named: they scattered His people Israel among the nations and divided up His land. The God who restores His own also calls to account those who harmed them.
The very name Jehoshaphat means the LORD judges, so the place itself proclaims what will happen there. God takes the wrongs done to His people personally, for they are His heritage and the land is His. This is sober comfort: injustice is not forgotten, and the Judge of all the earth will do right. The same truth runs through Scripture, that God will one day set every wrong in order. For the oppressed it is hope; for the oppressor it is warning. The Lord defends those who are His and answers every injury done to them.
In the Original Language
The name yehoshaphat (יְהוֹשָׁפָט, 'Jehoshaphat') means 'the LORD judges,' so the valley's very name declares the judgment that will occur there.