Joel 3

The Lord Judges the Nations

1 t "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,3 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.

4 "What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily.5 For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.t6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border.7 Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head.8 I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the Lord has spoken."

9  Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war;t
stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
let them come up.
10  Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weak say, "I am a warrior."

11  Hasten and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.
12  Let the nations stir themselves up
and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.

13  Put in the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.

14  Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15  The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.

16  The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the people of Israel.

The Glorious Future of Judah

17  "So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again pass through it.

18  "And in that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the streambeds of Judah
shall flow with water;
and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord
and water the Valley of Shittim.

19  "Egypt shall become a desolation
and Edom a desolate wilderness,
for the violence done to the people of Judah,
because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20  But Judah shall be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem to all generations.
21  I will avenge their blood,
blood I have not avenged,t
for the Lord dwells in Zion."

Joel 3

The Lord Plans to Judge the Nations

1 ssss For look! In thoses days and at that time
I will return the exiless to Judah and Jerusalem.s

2 Then I will gather all the nations,
and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.s
I will enter into judgmentt against them there
concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance,t
whom they scattered among the nations.
They partitioned my land,

3 and they cast lots for my people.
They tradedt a boy for a prostitute;
they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink.s

4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon?t
Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia?t
I will very quickly repay you for what you have done!t

5 For you took my silver and my gold
and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces.t

6 You sold Judeans and Jerusalemites to the Greeks,
removing them far from their own country.t

7 Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them.
I will repay you for what you have done!t

8 I will sell your sons and daughters tot the people of Judah.t
They will sell them to the Sabeans,s a nation far away.
Indeed, the Lord has spoken!

Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat

9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for a holy war!
Call out the warriors!
Let all these fighting men approach and attack!t

10 Beat your plowsharess into swords,
and your pruning hookss into spears!s
Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’s

11 Lend your aidt and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselvess to that place.”
Bring down, O Lord, your warriors!s

12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up
to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.

13 Rush forth witht the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!
Come, stomp the grapes,t for the winepress is full!
The vats overflow.
Indeed, their evil is great!s

14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,
for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision!s

15 The sun and moon are darkened;
the stars withholdt their brightness.

16 The Lord roars from Zion;
from Jerusalems his voice bellows out.t
The heavenst and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people;
he is a stronghold for the citizenst of Israel.

The Lord’s Presence in Zion

17 You will be convincedt that I the Lord am your God,
dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalems will be holy –
conquering armiest will no longer pass through it.

18 On that dayt the mountains will drip with sweet wine,t
and the hills will flow with milk.s
All the dry stream bedst of Judah will flow with water.
A spring will flow out from the templet of the Lord,
watering the Valley of Acacia Trees.t

19 Egypt will be desolate
and Edom will be a desolate wilderness,
because of the violence they did to the people of Judah,t
in whose land they shed innocent blood.

20 But Judah will reside securely forever,
and Jerusalem will be securet from one generation to the next.

21 I will avenges their blood which I had not previously acquitted.
It is the Lord who dwells in Zion!