to bruise or violently strike · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
plowshares
אִתֵּיכֶם֙'i.tei.Khem
H855
a hoe or other digging implement · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
swords
לַֽחֲרָב֔וֹתla.cha.ra.Vot
H2719
drought · preposition + noun, common feminine plural absolute
pruninghooks
וּמַזְמְרֹֽתֵיכֶ֖םu.maz.me.ro.tei.Khem
H4211
a pruningknife · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
spears
לִרְמָחִ֑יםlir.ma.Chim
H7420
a lance (as thrown) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
weak
הַֽחַלָּ֔שׁha.cha.Lash
H2523
frail · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
say
יֹאמַ֖רyo.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
strong
גִּבּ֥וֹרgi.Bor
H1368
powerful · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Zechariah 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the hous…
Micah 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears…
Isaiah 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into…
2 Chronicles 25:8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast dow…
Luke 22:36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joel 3:9-17
What the psalmist had long before ordered to be said among the heathen (Psa 96:10) the prophet here will have in like manner to be published to all nations, That the Lord reigns, and that he comes, he comes to judge the earth, as he had long been judging in the earth. The notice here given of God's judging the nations may have reference to the destruction of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and to the Antichrist especially, and all the proud enemies of the Christian church; but some of the best interpreters, ancient and modern (particularly the learned Dr. Polock), think the scope of these verses is to set forth the day of the last judgment under the similitude of God's making war upo…
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 invad…
Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears,.... 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, 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 this war; bu…
The Church Fathers
"Beat your plowshares," that is, change your farm implements into weapons. In fact, after coming back from captivity, they would have been poor, but then they would have acquired wealth at the expense of the house of Gog.
Whoever is protected by these weapons is always defended from the enemy's spears and devastation and will not be led as a captive and a slave, bound in the chains of the ravagers, to the territory of hostile thoughts. Nor will he hear through the prophet, "Why have you grown old in a foreign land?" But he will live triumphant and victorious in that region of thoughts where he wanted to be.Do you also want to understand the strength and fortitude of this centurion, by which he bears these weapons that we have spoken about and that are not carnal but powerful to God? Listen to the king himself and how he recruits the strong men that he gathers for his spiritual army, marking them and proving them: "Let the weak say," he says, "that I am strong." And, "The one who suffers shall be a fighter." You see, then, that the Lord's battles can be fought only by the suffering and the weak. Indeed, certainly fixed in this weakness, our gospel centurion said with confidence, "When I am weak, then I am strong." And again, "Strength is perfected in weakness." One of the prophets says about this weakness, "The one who is weak is among them shall be as the house of David." The patient sufferer shall also fight these battles with that patience of which it is said, "Patience is necessary for you so that you may do the will of God and receive a reward."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Coulter — (1 Sam. 13:20, 21), an agricultural instrument, elsewhere called “ploughshare” (Isa. 2:4; Micah 4:3; Joel 3:10). It was the facing-piece of a plough, analogous to the modern coulter.
Hook — (1.) Heb. hah, a “ring” inserted in the nostrils of animals to which a cord was fastened for the purpose of restraining them (2 Kings 19:28; Isa. 37:28, 29; Ezek. 29:4; 38:4). “The Orientals make use…
Hook, Hooks — Various kinds of hooks are noticed in the Bible, of which the following are the most important:
Agriculture Or Husbandry · Implements of: The pruning-hook — Implements of: The pruning-hook
Hooks · For pruning — For pruning
Plowshare · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Pruning · Pruninghook — Pruninghook
Spear · Pruning-hooks beat into — Pruning-hooks beat into
Sword · Ma — Ma
Sword, The · In time of war, plough shares made into — In time of war, plough shares made into
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Joel 3:9-11
9. Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
9. Publicate hoc in Gentibus, sanctificate proelium, excitate robustos, venient, ascendent omnes viri bellatores.
10. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
10. Concidite vomeres vestros in gladios et falces vestras in lanceas; debilis dicat, Ego sum robustus.
11. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
11. Congregamini et venite omnes gentes, congregamini in circuitu (hoc est, undique…
Fulfilment of the judgment upon all the heathen predicted in Joe 3:2. Compare the similar prediction of judgment in Zac 14:2. The call is addressed to all nations to equip themselves for battle, and march into the valley of Jehoshaphat to war against the people of God, but in reality to be judged by the Lord through His heavenly heroes, whom He sends down thither. Joe 3:9. "Proclaim ye this among the nations; sanctify a war, awaken the heroes, let all the men of war draw near and come up! Joe 3:10. Forge your coulters into swords, and your vine-sickles into spears: let the weak one say, A hero am I. Joe 3:11. Hasten and come, all ye nations round about, and assemble yourselves! Let thy heroe…
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.
