Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, May 13th, 2025
the Fourth Week after Easter
Attention!
Take your personal ministry to the Next Level by helping StudyLight build churches and supporting pastors in Uganda.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

Amplified Bible

Joel 3:10

Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, "I am strong!"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Hooks;   Joel;   Plowshare;   Pruning;   Spear;   Sword;   Scofield Reference Index - Judgments;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agriculture-Horticulture;   Pruning-Hook;   The Topic Concordance - Day of the Lord;   Enemies;   Gathering;   Gentiles/heathen;   Harvest;   Israel/jews;   Judges;   Nations;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Agriculture or Husbandry;   Spear;   Sword, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Plough;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Grapes;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Day of the Lord, God, Christ, the;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Coulter;   Hook;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Joel;   Tools;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Armour, Arms;   Joel, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Thessalonians Epistles to the;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Arms;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Jehoshaphat (2);   Smith Bible Dictionary - Hook, Hooks;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Pruning hook;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Plough;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Armor;   Hook;   Joel (2);   Plow;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Sword;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Beat your plows into swordsand your pruning knives into spears.Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”
Hebrew Names Version
Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, "I am strong."
King James Version
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
English Standard Version
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior."
New American Standard Bible
Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak man say, "I am a warrior."
New Century Version
Make swords from your plows, and make spears from your hooks for trimming trees. Let even the weak person say, "I am a soldier."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Breake your plowshares into swords, and your sithes into speares: let the weake say, I am strong.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, "I am a mighty man."
Legacy Standard Bible
Beat your plowshares into swordsAnd your pruning hooks into spears;Let the weak say, "I am a mighty man."
Berean Standard Bible
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong!'
Contemporary English Version
Make swords out of plows and spears out of garden tools. Strengthen every weakling."
Complete Jewish Bible
class="poetry"> "After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions; and also on male and female slaves in those days I will pour out my Spirit. I will show wonders in the sky and on earth — blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible Day of Adonai ." At that time, whoever calls on the name of Adonai will be saved. For in Mount Tziyon and Yerushalayim there will be those who escape, as Adonai has promised; among the survivors will be those whom Adonai has called.
Darby Translation
Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-knives into spears; let the weak say, I am strong.
Easy-to-Read Version
Beat your plows into swords. Make spears from your pruning hooks. Let the weak man say, "I am a strong soldier."
George Lamsa Translation
Beat your plowshares into swords and your sickles into spears. Let the weak say, I am a mighty man.
Good News Translation
Hammer the points of your plows into swords and your pruning knives into spears. Even the weak must fight.
Lexham English Bible
Beat your cutting tools of iron into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakling say, ‘I am a mighty warrior!'
Literal Translation
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong.
American Standard Version
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Bible in Basic English
Get your plough-blades hammered into swords, and your vine-knives into spears: let the feeble say, I am strong.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
[4:10] Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say: 'I am strong.'
King James Version (1611)
Beate your plowe shares into swords, and your pruning hookes into speares, let the weake say, I am strong.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Breake your plowe shares into swordes, and your sithes into speares, let the weake say, I am strong.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your sickles into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
English Revised Version
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
World English Bible
Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, "I am strong."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Beete ye togydere youre plowis in to swerdis, and youre mattokkis in to speeris; a sijk man seie, that Y am strong.
Update Bible Version
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
Webster's Bible Translation
Beat your plow-shares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong.
New English Translation
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears! Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!'
New King James Version
Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, "I am strong."'
New Living Translation
Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors.
New Life Bible
Beat your plows into swords, and your vine hooks into spears. Let the weak say, "I am a powerful soldier."
New Revised Standard
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakling say, "I am a warrior."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Beat your plough-shares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears, - as for the weak, let him say, mighty, I am.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Cut your ploughshares into swords, and your spades into spears. Let the weak say: I am strong.
Revised Standard Version
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior."
Young's Literal Translation
Beat your ploughshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, `I [am] mighty.'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Make you sweardes of youre ploweshares, and speares of youre syckles & sythes. Let ye weake man saye: I am stronge.

Contextual Overview

9Proclaim this among the [pagan] nations: Prepare a war! Stir up the mighty men! Let all the men of war come near, let them come up! 10Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, "I am strong!" 11Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there; Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones (Your warriors). 12Let the nations be stirred [to action] And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge and punish All the surrounding nations. 13Put in the sickle [of judgment], for the harvest is ripe; Come, tread [the grapes], for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for the wickedness [of the people] is great. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (judgment)! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision [when judgment is executed]. 15The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. 16The LORD thunders and roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem [in judgment of His enemies], And the heavens and the earth tremble and shudder; But the LORD is a refuge for His people And a stronghold [of protection] to the children of Israel. 17Then you will know and understand fully that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers [who do not belong] will no longer pass through it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

your plowshares: Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3, Luke 22:36

pruninghooks: or, scythes

let: 2 Chronicles 25:8, Zechariah 12:8

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 20:22 - strengthen Isaiah 41:1 - let the people Luke 13:12 - loosed

Cross-References

Genesis 2:25
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed or embarrassed.
Genesis 3:7
Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Genesis 3:17
Then to Adam the LORD God said, "Because you have listened [attentively] to the voice of your wife, and have eaten [fruit] from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it'; The ground is [now] under a curse because of you; In sorrow and toil you shall eat [the fruit] of it All the days of your life.
Genesis 3:18
"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field.
Exodus 3:6
Then He said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 32:25
Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control—for Aaron had let them get out of control to the point of being an object of mockery among their enemies—
Job 23:15
"Therefore I would be terrified at His presence; When I consider [all of this], I tremble in dread of Him.
Psalms 119:120
My flesh trembles in [reverent] fear of You, And I am afraid and in awe of Your judgments.
Isaiah 33:14
The sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. [They cry] "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?"
Isaiah 47:3
"Your nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame will also be exposed; I will take vengeance and will spare no man."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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; but let them make the best of themselves, and say they are strong and healthy, and fit for it, and enter in it with all courage and bravery: this is said either ironically to the enemies of God's people, suggesting that all hands would be wanted, and should be employed, weak and strong, and all little enough; when they had made the utmost effort they could, it would be in vain: or else they are seriously spoken to the people of God, that none of them should excuse themselves, or be discouraged because of their weakness from engaging in this last and more battle; but take heart, and be of good courage, and quit themselves like men, and be strong, since they might be sure of victory beforehand. The Apostle Paul refers to this text in

2 Corinthians 12:10; and applies it to spiritual weakness and strength; and indeed the weakest believer, that is so in faith and] knowledge, may say he is strong, in comparison of what he once was, and others are; strong, not in himself, but in Christ, and the power of his might, and in the grace that is in him; nor should he excuse himself from fighting the Lord's battles, against sin, Satan, and the world, and false teachers; or from doing the Lord's work, any service he calls him to; or from bearing the cross he lays on him on account of his weakness; nor should he: be discouraged by it from those things; but let him strengthen himself, as Aben Ezra interprets it, take heart, and be of good courage.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 against God. It is their one universal gathering. None, however seemingly unfit, was to be spared from this conflict; no one was to remain behind. The farmer was to forge for war the instruments of his peaceful toil; the sick was to forget his weakness and to put on a strength which he had not, and that to the uttermost. But as weakness is, in and through God, strength, so all strength out of God is weakness. Man may say, I am strong; but, against God, he remains weak as, it is said, that weak man Psalms 10:18) from the earth may no more oppress.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile