Book of Joel Chapter 3 Vs. 5

 The Lord Judges the Nations

Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: Joel 3:5

Because ye have... Which is all of the Lord's (Hag. 2:8); or which he had bestowed upon his people, and they had taken from them.

Because...

אֲשֶׁר

'ăsher

ash-er'

A primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as adverb and conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.: - X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how (-soever), X if, (so) that ([thing] which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither (-soever), who (-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.

ye have taken...

לָקַח

lâqach

law-kakh'

A primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications): - accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, X many, mingle, place, receive (-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.

my silver...

כֶּסֶף

keseph

keh'-sef

From H3700; silver (from its pale color); by implication money: - money, price, silver (-ling).

and my gold...

זָהָב

zâhâb

zaw-hawb'

From an unused root meaning to shimmer; gold; figuratively something gold colored (that is, yellow), as oil, a clear sky: - gold (-en), fair weather.

and have carried... Either the rich furniture of the houses of his people, which they carried into their own houses, or "palaces", as it may be rendered. Having either taken them away themselves or bought them of others that had taken them.

בּוֹא

bô'

bo

A primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications): - abide, apply, attain, X be, befall, + besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, X certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, X doubtless again, + eat, + employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, + follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, + have, X indeed, [in-]vade, lead, lift [up], mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, X (well) stricken [in age], X surely, take (in), way.

Or else the rich vessels of the temple; as these were carried away by the Chaldeans and put into their idol temples (Dan. 1:2); so afterward they were taken by the Romans, and put into the temples of their gods.

into your temples...

הֵיכָל

hêykâl

hay-kawl'

Probably from H3201 (in the sense of capacity); a large public building, such as a palace or temple: - palace, temple.

Whether any of these came into the hands of the Tyrians, etc. by any means, and were put into their idol temples, as the temple of Hercules, is not certain; however, it is notorious that the Roman Catholics and the Tyrians are an emblem of, not only build stately temples, and dedicate them to angels and saints, but most profusely adorn them with gold and silver.

my goodly pleasant... And all goodly and desirable things, which is putting them to an idolatrous use they were not designed for.

My goodly...

טוֹב

ṭôb

tobe

From H2895; good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well): - beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, X fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, X most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favoured]).

They had taken the silver and gold in the temple, and also, robbed the people of their silver and gold. They worshipped false gods and used God's precious metals in that false worship.

pleasant things...

מַחְמָד

machmâd

makh-mawd'

From H2530; delightful; hence a delight, that is, object of affection or desire: - beloved, desire, goodly, lovely, pleasant (thing).

All the heathen nations are to be brought together for judgment into a certain valley, which the prophet calls first the Vale of Jehoshaphat and then the Vale of Decision. The second name leads us to infer that the first, which means Jehovah-judges, is also symbolic. That is to say, the prophet does not single out a definite valley already called Jehoshaphat. In all probability, however, he has in his mind’s eye some vale in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, for since Ezekiel (Eze. 38:1-23) the judgment of the heathen in face of Jerusalem has been a standing feature in Israel’s vision of the last things; and as no valley about that city lends itself to the picture of judgment so well as the valley of the Kedron with the slopes of Olivet, the name Jehoshaphat has naturally been applied to it. Certain nations are singled out by name. These are not Assyria and Babylon, which had long ago perished, nor the Samaritans, Moab and Ammon, which harassed the Jews in the early days of the Return from Babylon, but Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Edom, and Egypt. The crime of the first three is the robbery of Jewish treasures, not necessarily those of the Temple, and the selling into slavery of many Jews. The crime of Edom and Egypt is that they have shed the innocent blood of Jews. To what precise events these charges refer we have no means of knowing in our present ignorance of Syrian history after Nehemiah. That the chapter has no explicit reference to the cruelties of Artaxerxes Ochus in 360 would seem to imply for it a date earlier than that year. But it is possible that Joel 3:17 refers to that, the prophet refraining from accusing the Persians for the very good reason that Israel was still under their rule.

These are specified as robbery (Joel 3:5) and slave trade (Joel 3:6). Since neither the Phoenicians nor the Philistines are mentioned as robbing the temple treasuries during the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. 2Kgs. 25:1-30), Joel 3:5 may refer to Israel’s wealth in general, not to the temple (cf. Wolff, Joel and Amos, p. 78).