Joel 3:13

Authorized King James Version

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Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

Original Language Analysis

שִׁלְח֣וּ Put H7971
שִׁלְח֣וּ Put
Strong's: H7971
Word #: 1 of 15
to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)
מַגָּ֔ל ye in the sickle H4038
מַגָּ֔ל ye in the sickle
Strong's: H4038
Word #: 2 of 15
a sickle
כִּ֥י H3588
כִּ֥י
Strong's: H3588
Word #: 3 of 15
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
בָשַׁ֖ל is ripe H1310
בָשַׁ֖ל is ripe
Strong's: H1310
Word #: 4 of 15
properly, to boil up; hence, to be done in cooking; figuratively to ripen
קָצִ֑יר for the harvest H7105
קָצִ֑יר for the harvest
Strong's: H7105
Word #: 5 of 15
severed, a limb (of a tree, or simply foliage)
בֹּ֤אֽוּ come H935
בֹּ֤אֽוּ come
Strong's: H935
Word #: 6 of 15
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
רְדוּ֙ get you down H3381
רְדוּ֙ get you down
Strong's: H3381
Word #: 7 of 15
to descend (literally, to go downwards; or conventionally to a lower region, as the shore, a boundary, the enemy, etc.; or figuratively, to fall); cau
כִּֽי H3588
כִּֽי
Strong's: H3588
Word #: 8 of 15
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
מָ֣לְאָה is full H4390
מָ֣לְאָה is full
Strong's: H4390
Word #: 9 of 15
to fill or (intransitively) be full of, in a wide application (literally and figuratively)
גַּ֔ת for the press H1660
גַּ֔ת for the press
Strong's: H1660
Word #: 10 of 15
a wine-press (or vat for holding the grapes in pressing them)
הֵשִׁ֙יקוּ֙ overflow H7783
הֵשִׁ֙יקוּ֙ overflow
Strong's: H7783
Word #: 11 of 15
to run after or over, i.e., overflow
הַיְקָבִ֔ים the fats H3342
הַיְקָבִ֔ים the fats
Strong's: H3342
Word #: 12 of 15
a trough (as dug out); specifically, a wine-vat (whether the lower one, into which the juice drains; or the upper, in which the grapes are crushed)
כִּ֥י H3588
כִּ֥י
Strong's: H3588
Word #: 13 of 15
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
רַבָּ֖ה is great H7227
רַבָּ֖ה is great
Strong's: H7227
Word #: 14 of 15
abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality)
רָעָתָֽם׃ for their wickedness H7451
רָעָתָֽם׃ for their wickedness
Strong's: H7451
Word #: 15 of 15
bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)

Analysis & Commentary

Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe—God commands His angelic reapers to begin judgment. The Hebrew shilchu maggal (שִׁלְחוּ מַגָּל, "send forth the sickle") uses agricultural imagery for judgment. The maggal (מַגָּל) is a curved harvesting blade for cutting grain. "For the harvest is ripe" (ki vashel qatsir, כִּי בָשֵׁל קָצִיר) uses bashel (בָּשֵׁל), meaning fully ripe, mature, ready. When crops reach full maturity, delay means rot and waste—immediate harvest is mandatory. Applied to judgment, this means the nations' wickedness has reached full measure; God's patience is exhausted; the time for harvest-judgment has arrived.

Come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow—the imagery shifts from grain harvest to grape harvest. "The press" (gat, גַּת) is the winepress where grapes were trampled to extract juice. "The fats" (yeqavim, יְקָבִים) are vats receiving the grape juice. Both are "full" and "overflowing" (heshiqhu, הֵשִׁיקוּ)—imagery of abundance. But this isn't joyful vintage celebration; it's judgment. The winepress symbolizes God's wrath being poured out (Lamentations 1:15; Isaiah 63:1-6; Revelation 14:19-20, 19:15). Trampling grapes represents crushing enemies in judgment. The overflowing vats indicate the magnitude of judgment—vast numbers facing divine wrath.

For their wickedness is great (Hebrew ki rabbah ra'atam, כִּי רַבָּה רָעָתָם)—this phrase explains why judgment is necessary and unstoppable. The adjective rabbah (רַבָּה, "great/abundant") describes the wickedness (ra'ah, רָעָה) as extensive, multiplied, overwhelming. The harvest and winepress imagery communicate that sin has reached full ripeness—delay is impossible. Genesis 15:16 uses similar language: "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." God waited 400 years until Canaanite wickedness reached the point demanding judgment. Joel declares that the nations' wickedness has now reached that tipping point. Revelation 14:14-20 employs identical imagery—an angel with a sharp sickle harvests earth's grain (verse 15-16), then another angel harvests the vine of the earth and throws it into "the great winepress of the wrath of God" where blood flows in staggering quantity (verses 18-20).

Historical Context

Harvest and winepress imagery would resonate powerfully with Joel's agricultural audience. Grain harvest (barley in spring, wheat in early summer) and grape harvest (late summer/early fall) were major annual events requiring intensive labor and communal effort. The winepress involved trampling grapes—physically stomping them with bare feet, crushing them to release juice that flowed into collection vats. Isaiah 63:1-6 depicts God returning from Edom with garments stained red like one who has trodden the winepress alone—judgment imagery. Joel applies this familiar imagery to eschatological judgment, creating vivid mental pictures of divine wrath executed on assembled nations.

Questions for Reflection