The Meaning of Joel 3:21 Explained

Joel 3:21

KJV: For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

YLT: And I have declared their blood innocent, That I did not declare innocent, And Jehovah is dwelling in Zion!

Darby: And I will purge them from the blood from which I had not purged them: for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion.

ASV: And I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion.

Discover Joel 3:21

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Joel 3:21?

MEANING: What does Joel 3:21 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Joel 3:21 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Joel 3:21?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For I will cleanse  their blood  [that] I have not cleansed:  for the LORD  dwelleth  in Zion. 

What does Joel 3:21 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God"s final promise through Joel was that He would avenge the blood shed by these enemies of Israel, which He had not yet avenged in the prophet"s day. He promised to do this because He dwelt in Zion, that Isaiah , He had a special covenant relationship with Israel (cf. Ezekiel 43:1-12; Zechariah 2:10-13).
" Joel 3:1-21 4:1-21] became the classic passage for the rest of the OT on God"s final judgment on all nations. It also became the classic statement for the blessed result for the people of God." [1]
The prophecy of Joel unfolds in chronological sequence. It begins with reference to a severe locust invasion that had come as a judgment on the Judahites for their covenant unfaithfulness to Yahweh ( Joel 1:2-20). Even though it is impossible to date this plague, it happened in the fairly recent past from Joel"s perspective. The Lord used this severe judgment to call His people, through His prophet, to anticipate an even worse devastation coming in the near future, not from insects but from foreign invaders. He called on the Jews to repent and promised that if they did He would forgive them and save them from this invasion. This would be a day of deliverance in which they would learn that He was at work for them. This is what happened when the Assyrians under Sennacherib"s leadership attacked Jerusalem unsuccessfully in701 B.C. (cf2Kings18-19; Isaiah 36-37). If this is the near invasion that Joel predicted, he must have written in the early pre-exilic period (ninth century B.C.). Yet another similar day was coming farther in the future in which they would again experience an invasion by foreigners who hated them (in the Tribulation). Nevertheless Yahweh promised to deliver them in that day and to restore them to unprecedented blessing because He was their covenant-keeping God (in the Millennium).

Context Summary

Joel 3:1-21 - "the Valley Of Decision"
Having stated the outward blessings that would follow repentance, Joel unveils the extraordinary spiritual blessings that were in store. The outpouring of the Spirit, described in Acts 2:16-17, does not exhaust these glorious words. This blessing is for all whom the Lord our God shall call to Himself, and as one to whom His call has come, you have a perfect right to claim your share in Pentecost. The promise is to all that are "afar off" in space and time. The very slaves, the most degraded and despised of men, become free when they yield themselves to Jesus and have an equal right to the same Spirit.
Joel 3:1-21 refers to the last desperate effort made by the powers of the world against Christ and His people. This will be the closing scene of man's apostasy. But the Lord will vindicate and deliver His oppressed from the hand of their oppressors; and the same judgment will bring them blessing. Having cleansed His people from their stains, Messiah will tabernacle among them, Revelation 21:3 [source]

Chapter Summary: Joel 3

1  God's judgments against the enemies of his people
9  God will be known in his judgment
18  His blessing upon the church

What do the individual words in Joel 3:21 mean?

For I will acquit them of the [guilt] of bloodshed not whom I had acquitted for Yahweh dwells in Zion
וְנִקֵּ֖יתִי דָּמָ֣ם לֹֽא־ נִקֵּ֑יתִי וַֽיהוָ֖ה שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּצִיּֽוֹן

וְנִקֵּ֖יתִי  For  I  will  acquit 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָקָה  
Sense: to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent, be desolate, be cut off.
דָּמָ֣ם  them  of  the  [guilt]  of  bloodshed 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
נִקֵּ֑יתִי  whom  I  had  acquitted 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָקָה  
Sense: to be empty, be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent, be desolate, be cut off.
וַֽיהוָ֖ה  for  Yahweh 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
שֹׁכֵ֥ן  dwells 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַן  
Sense: to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside.
בְּצִיּֽוֹן  in  Zion 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.

What are the major concepts related to Joel 3:21?

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Similar Scriptures for Joel 3:21

Isaiah 4:4 [4]
Ezekiel 36:25 [4]
Ezekiel 36:29 [3]
Matthew 27:25 [2]
Joel 3:17 [2]
Ezekiel 48:35 [2]
Revelation 21:3 [2]