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Joel 3:10

Old Testament Minor Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Joel 3:10 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Joel 3:10 — American Standard Version

Context — Joel 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
7behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head;
8and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for Jehovah hath spoken it.
9Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah.
12Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.
13Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
← Joel 3:9Joel 3:11 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears, etc.] Let not only soldiers, and such as have been trained up in military discipline, appear in the field on this occasion; but let husbandmen and vinedressers leave their fields and vineyards, and turn their instruments of husbandry and vinedressing into weapons of war; let them not plead want of armour, but convert these to such uses: on the contrary, when this battle will be over, swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into pruning hooks, (<230204>Isaiah 2:4); let the weak say, I [am] strong; such as are weak, through sickness, or old age, let them not plead their weakness to excuse them from engaging in…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Beat your ploughshares into swords--As the foes are desired to "beat their ploughshares into swords, and their pruning hooks into spears," that so they may perish in their unhallowed attack on Judah and Jerusalem, so these latter, and the nations converted to God by them, after the overthrow of the antichristian confederacy, shall, on the contrary, "beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks," when under Messiah's coming reign there shall be war no more (Isa 2:4; Hos 2:18; Mic 4:3). let the weak say, I am strong--So universal shall be the rage of Israel's foes for invading her, that even the weak among them will fancy themselves strong enough to join the…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Beat your plowshares into swords - Peace had been already promised, as a blessing of the gospel. “In His days,” foretold Solomon, “shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace, so long as the moon endureth” Psalms 72:7. And another, “He maketh thy borders peace” Psalms 147:14. Peace within with God flows forth in peace with man. “Righteousness and peace kissed each other” Psalms 85:10. Where there is not rest in God, all is unrest. And so, all which was needful for life, the means of subsistence, care of health, were to be forgotten for war. Let the weak say, I am strong - It is one last gathering of the powers of the world against their Maker; the closing scene of man’s rebellion…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“I am strong - Put on strength and valour; let none be absent from this war. Joel 3:11”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“3:10 Hammer your plowshares into swords: Deliberately reversing an image from Isa 2:4 and Mic 4:3, Joel ordered the nations to mobilize every resource for the forthcoming battle. Even those unfit for war, the weaklings, must become soldiers.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“your plowshares: Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3; Luk 22:36 pruninghooks: or, scythes let: Ch2 25:8; Zac 12:8 Joel 3:11”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification