Translations
Modern
Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.
Traditional
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.
Literal
Send forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow, for great is their wickedness!
Latin
Mittite falces, quoniam maturavit messis; venite, et descendite, quia plenum est torcular, exuberant torcularia: quia multiplicata est malitia eorum.
Original
Hebrew
English
Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.
Notes
God would defeat the nations completely. He would judge them like a sickle that cuts down grain at harvest time. He would also judge them like workers who crush grapes in a winepress until nothing remains (see Isaiah 63:2–3; Revelation 14:14–20).
Here, Joel spoke about God’s coming judgment on the nations, especially those that had oppressed God’s people.
In the distant future, God will restore his people's spiritual lives. He will give his Spirit to all who respond to him with faith. He will judge the peoples and nations that refuse to recognize his authority.
Theme notes and profiles
Events
- Prophecies of Joelc. 820 BC
Glossary
Topics
Harvest: Figurative Joel: Denounces Judgments Against the Enemies of God Sickle of the Judgments of God The Harvest of Ripeness for Wrath The Heathen: God: Punishes