Joel 3:3
New International Version
They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine to drink.

New Living Translation
They threw dice to decide which of my people would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.

English Standard Version
and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.

Berean Standard Bible
They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.

King James Bible
And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

New King James Version
They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

New American Standard Bible
“They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a prostitute, And sold a girl for wine so that they may drink.

NASB 1995
“They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

NASB 1977
“They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

Legacy Standard Bible
They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

Amplified Bible
“They have also cast lots for My people, And have traded a boy for a prostitute And have sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

Christian Standard Bible
They cast lots for my people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.

American Standard Version
and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

Contemporary English Version
and gambled to see who would get my people; they sold boys and girls to pay for prostitutes and wine.

English Revised Version
and they have cast lots for my people: and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They threw dice for my people. They traded boys for prostitutes. They sold girls so that they could buy wine to drink.

Good News Translation
They threw dice to decide who would get the captives. They sold boys and girls into slavery to pay for prostitutes and wine.

International Standard Version
They cast lots for my people— they sold a young boy in exchange for a prostitute, and a girl for wine, so they could drink."

Majority Standard Bible
They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.

NET Bible
and they cast lots for my people. They traded a boy for a prostitute; they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink.

New Heart English Bible
and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

World English Bible
and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And for My people they cast a lot, "" And they give the young man for a harlot, "" And have sold the young woman for wine, "" That they may drink.

Young's Literal Translation
And for My people they do cast a lot, And they give the young man for an harlot, And the young woman have sold for wine, That they may drink.

Smith's Literal Translation
And for my people they cast the lot: and they will give the boy for a harlot, and they sold the girl for wine; and they will drink.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they have cast lots upon my people: and the boy they have put in the stews, and the girl they have sold for wine, that they might drink.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they have cast lots over my people; and the boy they have placed in the brothel, and the girl they have sold for wine, so that they might drink.

New American Bible
For my people they cast lots, trading a young boy for the price of a prostitute, exchanging a young girl for the wine they drank.

New Revised Standard Version
and cast lots for my people, and traded boys for prostitutes, and sold girls for wine, and drunk it down.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they have cast lots for my people, and have given boys for the price of harlots, and sold the girls for wine, that they might drink.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they cast lots for my people, and they gave boys for the price of a whore and they sold girls for wine and they drank
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And they have cast lots for My people; And have given a boy for an harlot, And sold a girl for wine, and have drunk.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and cast lots over my people, and have given their boys to harlots, and sold their girls for wine, and have drunk.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The LORD Judges the Nations
2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land. 3They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink. 4Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads.…

Cross References
Obadiah 1:11
On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.

Nahum 3:10
Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.

Amos 2:6
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.

Amos 8:6
Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”

Zechariah 14:1-2
Behold, a day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence. / For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

Lamentations 5:11-13
Women have been ravished in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. / Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders receive no respect. / Young men toil at millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood.

Ezekiel 27:13
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.

Isaiah 3:12
Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.

Isaiah 13:16
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.

Isaiah 47:3
Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

Revelation 18:13
of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.

Revelation 11:8
Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified.

Revelation 17:2
The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

Revelation 18:3
All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”

Matthew 18:7
Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!


Treasury of Scripture

And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

2 Chronicles 28:8,9
And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria…

Amos 2:6
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

Obadiah 1:11
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.

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Boy Boys Cast Chance Decision Drink Drunk Fate Girl Girls Harlot Lot Lots Price Prostitute Prostitutes Sold Traded Wine Young
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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.














They cast lots for My people
The phrase "cast lots" refers to an ancient practice used to make decisions or divide goods, often seen as leaving the decision to divine will. In the Hebrew context, the casting of lots was sometimes used in sacred settings, such as the division of the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel (Joshua 18:10). However, here it is used in a profane and degrading manner, indicating the utter disregard for the sanctity and dignity of God's people. The Hebrew word for "lots" is "goral," which can mean a portion or destiny. This highlights the tragic fate imposed upon the Israelites, as their lives and futures were treated as mere commodities. Historically, this reflects the brutal practices of ancient warfare, where captives were often divided among victors as spoils.

they bartered a boy for a prostitute
The act of bartering a boy for a prostitute underscores the dehumanization and moral corruption prevalent among the oppressors. The Hebrew word for "bartered" is "natan," meaning to give or exchange. This transaction reveals a society that values human life so little that a child is traded for momentary pleasure. The mention of a "prostitute" (Hebrew: "zonah") further emphasizes the moral decay, as it represents the pursuit of illicit and fleeting satisfaction at the expense of innocence and purity. This phrase serves as a stark indictment of the societal values that prioritize vice over virtue, reflecting a complete inversion of God's intended order.

and sold a girl for wine to drink
The selling of a girl for wine illustrates the commodification of human life and the pursuit of hedonistic indulgence. The Hebrew word for "sold" is "makar," which conveys the idea of selling or surrendering something valuable. In this context, it highlights the tragic reality of young girls being traded for mere consumables, emphasizing the depth of exploitation and abuse. Wine, often a symbol of joy and celebration in the Bible, here becomes a symbol of excess and moral bankruptcy. The phrase "to drink" (Hebrew: "shathah") suggests a reckless pursuit of pleasure, where the well-being of others is sacrificed for personal gratification. This imagery serves as a powerful condemnation of the societal decay and the loss of compassion and justice.

(3) Cast lots . . .--The nations who oppressed and carried away the Jews treated them as chattels, cast lots for the possession of them as slaves, and purchased a night's revelry or other indulgence with the captives they had taken.

Verse 3. - They have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Such was the contumely with which they were treated at the time of the great catastrophe referred to. The captives were distributed by lot among the conquerors; these in turn sold them to the slave-dealers for the merest trifle - a slave-boy for the hire of a harlot, or a slave-girl for a glass or draught of wine. Such treatment had been predicted ages before, and was verified by contemporaneous history (comp. Leviticus 26:33, sqq., and Deuteronomy 28:36 for the prediction; and Josephus, . De Bell. Jud., 6.9.2,3, for the fulfilment). Ninety-seven thousand prisoners were disposed of as follows: those under seventeen years of age were publicly sold; some exiled to work in Egyptian mines; others reserved to fight with wild beasts in the amphi-theatre. Also in the time of Hadrian four Jewish captives were sold for a measure of barley. Nay, more, the Syrian commander, Nicanor, bargained by anticipation for the sale of such Jews as should be taken cap-tire in the Maccabean war. The prophet, moreover, looks forward in prophetic vision to the day of final judgment, when God will, in just retribution, pour out the vials of his wrath on all the oppressors of his Church and people.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They cast
יַדּ֣וּ (yad·dū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3032: To handle, to throw, lots

lots
גוֹרָ֑ל (ḡō·w·rāl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1486: Lot -- a lot (for casting)

for
וְאֶל־ (wə·’el-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

My people;
עַמִּ֖י (‘am·mî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

they bartered
וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ (way·yit·tə·nū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

a boy
הַיֶּ֙לֶד֙ (hay·ye·leḏ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3206: Something born, a lad, offspring

for a prostitute
בַּזּוֹנָ֔ה (baz·zō·w·nāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry

and sold
מָכְר֥וּ (mā·ḵə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 4376: To sell

a girl
וְהַיַּלְדָּ֛ה (wə·hay·yal·dāh)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3207: Girl, maiden

for wine
בַיַּ֖יִן (ḇay·ya·yin)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3196: Wine, intoxication

to drink.
וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ׃ (way·yiš·tū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8354: To imbibe


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OT Prophets: Joel 3:3 And have cast lots for my people (Jl Joe.)
Joel 3:2
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