Beat your plowshares ¹  into swords, and your pruning hooks ²  into spears! ³  Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ ⁴ 

biblegateway Joe 3:10

Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, "I am a mighty man."

Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning knives into spears. Let even the weakling say: I am a warrior.

Hammer your plowblades into swords and your pruning shears into spears. Weaklings should say that they are warriors.

biblegateway Joe 3:10

Beat your ploughshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, "I am strong!"

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior."

bibleoremus Joe 3:10

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakling say, "I am a warrior."

Beat your mattocks into swords and your pruning-knives into spears. Let even the weakling say, “I am strong.”

biblegateway Joe 3:10

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

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong.

biblegateway Joe 3:10

Beat your plowshares ¹  into swords, and your pruning hooks ²  into spears! ³  Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ ⁴ 

¹ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

² sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

³ sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.

⁴ sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.