Discovery BoxJoel 3:3 
Context3:3 and they cast lots for my people.
They traded 1 a boy for a prostitute;
they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. 2
Joel 3:8
Context3:8 I will sell your sons and daughters to 3 the people of Judah. 4
They will sell them to the Sabeans, 5 a nation far away.
Indeed, the Lord has spoken!
1 tn Heb “gave.”
2 sn Heb “and they drank.” Joel vividly refers to a situation where innocent human life has little value; its only worth is its use in somehow satisfying selfish appetites of wicked people who have control over others (cf. Amos 2:6 and 8:6).
3 tn Heb “into the hand of.”
4 tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”
5 sn The Sabeans were Arabian merchants who were influential along the ancient caravan routes that traveled through Arabia. See also Job 1:15; Isa 43:3; 45:14; Ps 72:10.
