Joel 3:6

Translation
King James Version
The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
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KJV (with Strong's)
The children H1121 also of Judah H3063 and the children H1121 of Jerusalem H3389 have ye sold H4376 unto the Grecians H3125 H1121, that ye might remove them far H7368 from their border H1366.
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Complete Jewish Bible
The people of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim you sold to the Greeks, so that you could remove them far away from their land.
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Berean Standard Bible
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.
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American Standard Version
and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye may remove them far from their border;
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World English Bible Messianic
and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
The children also of Iudah and the children of Ierusalem haue you solde vnto the Grecians, that ye might send them farre from their border.
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Young's Literal Translation
And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, Ye have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border.
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See also
Ezekiel 27:13Joel 3:3Joel 3:8Deuteronomy 28:68Deuteronomy 28:32
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SUMMARY

Joel 3:6 serves as a stark indictment against the nations surrounding Judah and Jerusalem, particularly those involved in the slave trade. The verse condemns the heinous act of selling the vulnerable inhabitants, including children, into distant foreign lands, specifically to the Grecians, thereby severing them from their homeland and heritage. This act of forced displacement and dehumanization is presented as a grave offense against God's covenant people, provoking divine judgment and underscoring God's unwavering commitment to justice for the oppressed.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: The Book of Joel pivots around the theme of "the Day of the Lord," a multifaceted concept encompassing divine judgment and subsequent restoration. Following a vivid description of a locust plague and a call to repentance for Judah in Joel 1 and Joel 2, the prophetic focus shifts in Joel 3. Here, God declares His intention to gather the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment, specifically for their mistreatment of His people and His heritage, Israel (Joel 3:1-2). Verses Joel 3:4-8 directly address Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, outlining their specific transgressions, among which the selling of Judah's people into slavery is a prominent accusation, as highlighted in Joel 3:6.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The ancient Near East was rife with inter-state conflicts and the subsequent practice of taking captives, who were often sold into slavery. This was a common economic and political practice, with major trading centers facilitating the exchange of human beings as merchandise. The mention of "Grecians" (Hebrew: Yawan) points to the burgeoning Greek world, particularly the Ionian Greeks, who were known to be significant purchasers of slaves from the Levant, often through Phoenician intermediaries. This indicates that the captives from Judah and Jerusalem were sold far from their homeland, across the Mediterranean, into a distant and alien culture. Such forced removal was not merely an economic transaction but a profound act of cultural, familial, and spiritual devastation, tearing individuals from their community, their land, and their covenant relationship with God.
  • Key Themes: Joel 3:6 contributes significantly to several overarching themes in the book and broader biblical narrative. Firstly, it powerfully underscores Divine Retribution and Justice, demonstrating God's unwavering commitment to holding nations accountable for their actions against humanity, especially His chosen people. The selling of people, particularly vulnerable children, was an egregious sin that provoked divine wrath, echoing similar judgments found in passages like Isaiah 13 and Amos 1:6-10. Secondly, it serves as a strong Condemnation of Slavery and Human Trafficking, highlighting the dehumanizing nature of such practices and the immense suffering caused by severing individuals from their families, culture, and homeland. Finally, the verse implicitly emphasizes God's Sovereignty and Protection over His people. Despite their suffering, God is fully aware and promises to intervene, reinforcing the idea that those who harm His people are touching the "apple of His eye," as articulated in Zechariah 2:8.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • children (Hebrew, bên, H1121): This term (H1121) is derived from a root meaning "to build" and refers to a son, but in its widest sense, it encompasses offspring, including young ones. Its use here emphasizes the extreme vulnerability of those sold into slavery. The specific mention of "children" highlights the moral depravity of the perpetrators, as it targets the most defenseless members of society, those who represent the future and continuity of the family and nation.
  • sold (Hebrew, mâkar, H4376): The primitive root (H4376) "to sell" denotes a commercial transaction, literally involving merchandise, a daughter in marriage, or, as in this context, human beings into slavery. This word underscores the reduction of human life to a commodity, stripped of inherent dignity and worth, exchanged for profit by those who disregard their humanity.
  • Grecians (Hebrew, Yᵉvânîy, H3125): This patronymic term (H3125) refers to a Javanite, or descendant of Javan, broadly understood as the Ionians or Greeks. Its inclusion signifies the distant, foreign destination of the enslaved. To be sold to the "Grecians" meant being transported far across the sea, beyond the familiar world of the Levant, into a culture completely alien, with little to no hope of return or reconnection with their people and land.

Verse Breakdown

  • "The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem": This phrase specifically identifies the victims of the slave trade as the inhabitants of God's covenant land and capital city. The repetition of "children" emphasizes the tender age and innocence of many of those exploited, intensifying the gravity of the crime. It highlights that the very core and future of God's people were targeted.
  • "have ye sold unto the Grecians": This clause directly accuses the nations (specifically Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, as per the preceding verses) of the act of selling these vulnerable people. The "Grecians" (or Ionians) represent a distant, foreign market, signifying the complete removal of the captives from their familiar world and the deliberate nature of their permanent displacement. This was a calculated act of exploitation for economic gain.
  • "that ye might remove them far from their border": This final clause articulates the devastating consequence and malicious intent behind the sale. The purpose was not merely to enslave but to utterly dislocate and alienate the people from their homeland, their families, their cultural identity, and their religious heritage. This forced removal from their "border" (their territory, their home) signified a profound act of dehumanization and an attempt to erase their connection to the land promised by God.

Literary Devices

Joel 3:6 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its message. The use of Pathos is evident in the specific mention of "children," designed to evoke deep sympathy and outrage from the audience. By highlighting the vulnerability of the victims, the prophet intensifies the moral condemnation of the perpetrators. The verse also functions as a direct Accusation, with the pronoun "ye" directly addressing the culpable nations, leaving no ambiguity about their guilt. Furthermore, the act of selling people "far from their border" serves as a form of Symbolism, representing not just physical displacement but also a spiritual and existential severance from their identity as God's covenant people and their heritage in the promised land. This complete removal signifies the ultimate act of oppression and dehumanization.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Joel 3:6 profoundly articulates God's righteous indignation against human exploitation and injustice, particularly when directed at the vulnerable and His covenant people. It underscores the biblical principle that human beings are not commodities to be bought and sold, but image-bearers of God, possessing inherent dignity and worth. The divine response to such atrocities reveals a God who is not distant or indifferent, but one who actively intervenes to bring justice and restoration. This verse serves as a foundational text for understanding God's unwavering commitment to the oppressed and His promise of retribution against those who perpetuate systems of slavery and human trafficking.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Joel 3:6, though ancient, resonates with profound contemporary relevance, serving as a powerful prophetic voice against all forms of human exploitation. It challenges believers today to recognize that God's heart still grieves over the buying and selling of human lives, whether through modern slavery, human trafficking, forced labor, or any system that dehumanizes individuals for profit or power. This verse calls us to move beyond passive observation to active compassion and advocacy for the vulnerable and oppressed in our world. It reminds us that justice is not merely a human ideal but a divine imperative, and that God sees, remembers, and will ultimately act on behalf of those who suffer injustice. Our faith demands that we not only pray for justice but also actively participate in dismantling systems of oppression, offering hope and practical assistance to those who are exploited, and upholding the inherent dignity of every human life.

Questions for Reflection

  • What forms of human exploitation and trafficking exist in our world today, and how does Joel 3:6 speak to these modern realities?
  • How can individuals and communities of faith actively participate in advocating for and protecting the vulnerable from exploitation?
  • In what ways does this verse challenge our understanding of divine justice and God's involvement in the affairs of nations?

FAQ

Who are the "Grecians" mentioned in Joel 3:6, and why is their involvement significant?

Answer: The "Grecians" (Hebrew: Yᵉvânîy, H3125) refers to the Ionians, or more broadly, the Greeks. This term signifies a distant, foreign land to the west of Israel. Their involvement is significant because it emphasizes the extreme displacement and hopelessness of those sold into slavery. To be sold to the Grecians meant being transported far across the Mediterranean Sea, away from their homeland, culture, and any realistic hope of return, highlighting the profound and permanent nature of their separation from their heritage and families.

Why does the verse specifically mention "children" being sold into slavery?

Answer: The specific mention of "children" (Hebrew: bên, H1121) underscores the profound moral offense of the act. Children are the most vulnerable members of any society, representing its future and continuity. Their exploitation for profit is an act of extreme cruelty and moral depravity. By highlighting the sale of children, the prophet intensifies the condemnation of the nations involved, appealing to a universal sense of outrage against the abuse of the innocent and defenseless. It emphasizes the complete disregard for human dignity inherent in the slave trade.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Joel 3:6, with its poignant depiction of the selling of God's people, particularly the vulnerable "children," into distant slavery, finds its ultimate fulfillment and redemptive answer in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While the verse condemns the literal selling of human beings, it also foreshadows the deeper spiritual slavery to sin and death from which humanity needed liberation. Jesus, the true Son of God, willingly "sold" Himself, not for profit, but as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He identified with the oppressed and the marginalized, declaring His mission to "proclaim liberty to the captives" (Luke 4:18). Through His sacrificial death and resurrection, Christ broke the chains of spiritual bondage, removing us not "far from our border," but bringing us near to God, into His eternal kingdom and family (Ephesians 2:13). He is the ultimate deliverer who redeems us from every form of slavery—sin, death, and the injustices of this world—promising a future where there will be no more sorrow, crying, or pain, and where every tear will be wiped away (Revelation 21:4). Thus, Joel's lament for the enslaved finds its hope and resolution in the liberating power of Christ, who restores dignity and brings eternal freedom to all who believe.

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Commentary on Joel 3 verses 1–8

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

We have often heard of the year of the redeemed, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion; now here we have a description of the transactions of that year, and a prophecy of what shall be done when it comes, whenever it comes, for it comes often, and at the end of time it will come once for all.

I. It shall be the year of the redeemed, for God will bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, Joe 3:1. Though the bondage of God's people may be grievous and very long, yet it shall not be everlasting. That in Egypt ended at length in their deliverance into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Let my son go, the he may serve me. That in Babylon shall likewise end well. And the Lord Jesus will provide for the effectual redemption of poor enslaved souls from under the dominion of sin and Satan, and will proclaim that acceptable year, the year of jubilee, the release of debts and servants, and the opening of the prison to those that were bound. There is a day, there is a time, fixed for the bringing again of the captivity of God's children, for the redeeming of them from the power of the grave; and it shall be the last day and the end of all time.

II. It shall be the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. Though God may suffer the enemies of his people to prevail against them very far and for a long time, yet he will call them to an account for it, and will lead captivity captive (Psa 68:18), will lead those captive that led his people captive, Rev 13:10. Observe,

1.Who those are that shall be reckoned with - all nations, Joe 3:2. This intimates, (1.) That all the nations had made themselves liable to the judgment of God for wrong done to his people. Persecution is the reigning crying sin of the world; that lying in wickedness itself is set against godliness. The enmity that is in the old serpent, the god of this world, against the seed of the woman, appears more or less in the children of this world. Marvel not if the world hate you. (2.) That, whatsoever nation injured God's nation, they should not go unpunished; for he that touches the Israel of God shall be made to know that he touches the apple of his eye. Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone to all people, Zac 12:3. But the neighboring nations shall be particularly reckoned with - Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coasts of Palestine, or the Philistines, who have been troublesome neighbours to the Israel of God, Joe 3:4. When the more remote and potent nations that laid Israel wastes are reckoned with the impotent malice of those that lay near them, and helped forward the affliction, (Zac 1:15), and made a hand of it (Eze 26:2), shall not be passed by. Note, Little persecutors shall be called to an account as well as great ones; and, though they could not do much mischief, shall be reckoned with according to the wickedness of their endeavors and the mischief they would have done.

2.The sitting of this court for judgment. They shall all be gathered (Joe 3:2), that those who have combined together against God's people, with one consent (Psa 83:5), may together receive their doom. They shall be brought down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, which lay near Jerusalem, and there God will plead with them, (1.) Because it is fit that criminals should be tried in the same country where they did the fact. (2.) For their greater confusion, when they shall see that Jerusalem which they have so long endeavored and hoped for the ruin of, in spite of all their rage, made a praise in the earth. (3.) For the greater comfort and honor of God's Jerusalem, which shall see God pleading their cause. (4.) Then shall be re-acted what God did for Jehoshaphat when he gave him victory over those that invaded him, and furnished him and his people with matter of joy and praise, in the valley of Berachah. See Ch2 20:26. (5.) It was in this valley of Jehoshaphat (as Dr. Lightfoot suggests) that Sennacherib's army, or part of it, lay, when it was destroyed by an angel. They came together to ruin Jerusalem, but God brought them together for their own ruin, as sheaves into the floor, Mic 4:12.

3.The plaintiff called, on whose behalf this prosecution is set on foot; it is for my people, and for my heritage Israel. It is their cause that God will now plead with jealousy. Note, God's people are his heritage, his peculiar, his portion, his treasure, above all people, Exo 19:5; Deu 32:9. They are his demesne, and therefore he has a good action against those that trespass upon them.

4.The charge exhibited against them, which is very particular. Many affronts they had put upon God by their idolatries, but that for which God has a quarrel with them is the affront they have put upon his people and upon the vessels of his sanctuary.

(1.)They had been very abusive to the people of Israel, had scattered them among the nations and forced them to seek for shelter where they could find a place, or carried them captive into their respective countries and there industriously dispersed them, for fear of their incorporating for their common safety. They parted their land, and took every one his share of it as their own; nay, they have cast lots for my people, and sold them. When they had taken them prisoners, [1.] They made a jest of them, made a scorn of them as of no value. They would not release them and yet thought them not worth the keeping; they made nothing of playing them away at dice. Or they made a dividend of the prisoners by lot, as the soldiers did of Christ's garments. [2.] They made a gain of them. When they had them they sold them, yet with so much contempt that they did not increase their wealth by their price, but sold them for their pleasure rather than their profit; they gave a boy taken in war for the hire of a harlot, and a girl for so many bottles of wine as would serve them for one sitting, a goodly price at which they valued them, and goodly preferment for a son and daughter of Israel to be a slave and a drudge in a tavern or a brothel. Observe, here, how that which is got by sin is commonly spent upon another. The spoil which these enemies of the Jews gathered by injustice and violence they scattered and threw away in drinking and whoring; such is frequently the character, and such the conversation, of the enemies and persecutors of the people of God. The Tyrians and Philistines, when they seized any of the children of Judah and Jerusalem, either took them prisoners in war or kidnapped them, they sold them to the Grecians (with whom the men of Tyre traded in the persons of men, Eze 27:13), that they might remove them far from their own border, Joe 3:6. It was a great reproach to Israel, God's first-born, his free-born, to be thus bought and sold among the heathen.

(2.)They had unjustly seized God's silver and gold (Joe 3:5), by which some understand the wealth of Israel. The silver and gold which God's people had he calls his, because they had received it from him and devoted it to him; and whosoever robbed them God took it as if they had robbed him and would make reprisals accordingly. Those who take away the estates of good men for well-doing will be found guilty of sacrilege; they take God's silver and gold. But it seems rather to be meant of the vessels and treasures of the temple, which God here calls his goodly pleasant things, precious and desirable to him and all that are his. These they carried into their temples as trophies of their victory over God's Israel, thinking that therein they triumphed over Israel's God, nay, and that their idols triumphed over him. Thus the ark was put in Dagon's temple. Thus they did unjustly. "What have you to do with me (Joe 3:4), with my people; what wrong have they done you? What provocation have they given you? You had nothing to do with them, and yet you do all this against them. Devices are devised against the quiet in the land, and those offended and harmed that are harmless and inoffensive: Will you render me a recompence?" Can they pretend that either God or his people have done them any injury, for which they may justify themselves by the law of retaliation in doing them these mischiefs? No; they have no colour for it. Note, It is no new thing for those who have been very civil and obliging to their neighbours to find them very unkind and unneighbourly and for those who do no injuries to suffer many.

5.The sentence passed upon them. In general (Joe 3:4), "If you recompense me, if you pretend a quarrel with me, if you provoke me thus to jealousy, if you touch the apple of my eye, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompence upon your own head." Those that contend with God will find themselves unable to make their part good with him. He will recompense them suddenly, when they little think of it, and have not time to prevent it; if he take them to task, he will soon effect their ruin. Particularly, it is threatened, (1.) That they should not gain their end in the mischief they designed against God's people. They thought to remove them so far from their border that they should never return to it again, Joe 3:6. But (says God) "I will raise them out of the place whither you have sold them, and they shall not, as you intended, be buried alive there." Men's selling the people of God will not deprive him of his property in them. (2.) That they shall be paid in their own coin, as Adonibezek was (Joe 3:8): "I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah; you shall lie as much at their mercy as they have been at yours," Isa 60:14. Thus the Jews had rule over those that hated them, Est 9:1. And then they shall justly be sold to the Sabeans, to a people far off. This (some think) had its accomplishment in the victories obtained by the Maccabees over the enemies of the Jews; others think it looks as far forward as the last day, when the upright shall have dominion (Psa 49:14) and the saints shall judge the world. It is certain that none ever hardened his heart against God, or his church, and prospered long; no, not Pharaoh himself, for the Lord has spoken it, for the comfort of all his suffering servants, that vengeance is his and he will repay.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–8. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Joel
(Verse 4-6.) But what do you want with me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you retaliate against me? If you retaliate against me, I will quickly repay you for your actions upon your own heads. For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried off my precious treasures into your temples. You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, in order to remove them far from their own land. LXX: What have I to do with you, Tyre and Sidon, and all the Galilee of the Gentiles? Are you rendering retribution to me, or do you hold anger against me in your heart (for this is what μνησικακείτε means in Greek)? Quickly and swiftly I will repay your retribution upon your heads, because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried off my precious treasures into your temples. And you have sold the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the Greeks, in order to remove them far from their borders. And the Jews consider these places, Tyre, Sidon, and the borders of Palestine, or Galilee, to be inhabited by foreigners: because during the Jewish captivity, when they were conquered by the Romans, they persecuted the people of God; in fact, they persecuted the very God who presided over the people, according to what is written: 'He who receives you, receives me' (Matt. 10:40). Therefore, on the contrary, whoever persecutes the people of God, persecutes the very God to whom the people belong. I will restore, he says, to you what you have done to my people: for you have taken my silver and gold, that is, the vessels of the temple, and whatever was most precious and beautiful in it, the golden candlestick and the golden table of proposition, and the two golden Cherubim, and the mercy-seat, and the golden bowls and censers, and you have consecrated them to your idols (2 Kings 25). However, the Chaldeans are said to have done these things more, who placed the vessels of the Lord's temple in the temple of Bel: from which afterwards Belshazzar drinks in the vessels, and immediately his kingdom is transferred to the Medes and Persians (Daniel 5). But because after the Great and Horrible Day of the Lord, these things are said to happen, which the apostles interpret in the resurrection of the Lord, and the Hebrews differ in the future time of judgment, it is more to be understood about the Romans: that Vespasian and Titus, after the Temple of Peace was built in Rome, consecrated the vessels of the Temple and all its offerings in its sanctuary: which Greek and Roman history narrates. At that time, the sons of Judah and Jerusalem (not Israel, and the ten tribes, which until today live in the cities and mountains of the Medes) were sold to the sons of the Greeks, so that they would exterminate them from their borders, and the whole Jewish world was filled with captivity. They interpret this as referring to the vengeance of the blood of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened by the judgment of God, confirming that it happened against Tyre and Sidon. But according to the intended allegory, we interpret Tyre and Sidon and the Palestinians as those who oppress, afflict, and persecute God's people (for Tyre resonates with our language) and hunt him down (or rather, for them to be hunted down) unto death, which the name Sidon indicates, and they drink blood and fall in the mud, which signifies the Philistines and Galilee. The Lord will quickly and swiftly restore to them what they deserve, because they have persecuted him. And their silver and gold, namely the words of the Scriptures, and their meanings, that is, their ideas and theses, and everything that was beautiful in the Church, they have delivered into the bondage of their errors. Whoever deceives heretics and causes them to worship idols, sells the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the Greeks, or to the pagans, and makes them become heathens among the Christians, in order to exterminate them from their borders, in which they were born in Christ, and not in Judea, and in the confession of the truth, but they wander in the error of the nations. All of these things, we can refer to the Day of Judgment, without a differing punishment: although they may seem to differ in time from what the superiors say. For in Hebrew it is written 'Galilaea', which Aquila translated as 'Θῖνας', and Symmachus as 'Terminos'. And 'Θῖνας', which means 'Tumulos Arenarum', let us refer to the shores of Palestine, not to Galilee of the Philistines, which is nothing at all.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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