Joel 3

Chapter 3

Judgment against Enemy Nations

1 t“At the time of those events,” says the LORD,
“when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,2 I will gather the armies of the world
into the valley of Jehoshaphat.t
There I will judge them
for harming my people, my special possession,
for scattering my people among the nations,
and for dividing up my land.3 They threw dicet 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.4 “What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done.5 You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples.

6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,t so they could take them far from their homeland.
7 “But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done.

8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia,t a nation far away. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
9 Say to the nations far and wide:
“Get ready for war!
Call out your best warriors.
Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.10 Hammer your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Train even your weaklings to be warriors.11 Come quickly, all you nations everywhere.
Gather together in the valley.”
And now, O LORD, call out your warriors!12 “Let the nations be called to arms.
Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I, the LORD, will sit
to pronounce judgment on them all.13 Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.t
Come, tread the grapes,
for the winepress is full.
The storage vats are overflowing
with the wickedness of these people.”14 Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision.
There the day of the LORD will soon arrive.15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will no longer shine.16 The LORD’s voice will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth will shake.
But the LORD will be a refuge for his people,
a strong fortress for the people of Israel.

Blessings for God’s People

17 “Then you will know that I, the LORD your God,
live in Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy forever,
and foreign armies will never conquer her again.18 In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and the hills will flow with milk.
Water will fill the streambeds of Judah,
and a fountain will burst forth from the LORD’s Temple,
watering the arid valley of acacias.t19 But Egypt will become a wasteland
and Edom will become a wilderness,
because they attacked the people of Judah
and killed innocent people in their land.20 “But Judah will be filled with people forever,
and Jerusalem will endure through all generations.21 I will pardon my people’s crimes,
which I have not yet pardoned;
and I, the LORD, will make my home
in Jerusalemt with my people.”

JOEL 3

The [Lord] Will Judge //the Nations

1 At that time I, the [Lord], will make Judah and Jerusalem prosperous again. 2 Then in Judgment Valleyt I will bring together the nations that scattered my people Israel everywhere in the world, and I will bring charges against those nations. They divided up my land

3 and gambled to see who would get my people; they sold boys and girls to pay for prostitutes and wine.
4  t You people of Tyre and Sidont and you Philistines, why are you doing this? Are you trying to get even with me? I'll strike back before you know what's happened. 5 You've taken my prized possessions, including my silver and gold, and carried them off to your temples.t

6 You have dragged the people of Judah and Jerusalem from their land and sold them to the Greeks.
7 But I'll make the people of Judah determined to come home, and what happened to them will happen to you.

8 I'll hand over your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, t who live far away. I, the [Lord], have spoken!

Judgment in Judgment Valley

9 Say to the nations:
“Get ready for war!
Be eager to fight.
Line up for battle
and prepare to attack.

10  t Make swords out of plows
and spears out of garden tools.
Strengthen every weakling.”

11 Hurry, all you nations!
Come quickly.
Ask the [Lord] to bring
his warriors along.t

12 You must come now
to Judgment Valley, t
where the [Lord] will judge
the surrounding nations.

13  t They are a field of ripe crops.
Bring in the harvest!
They are grapes piled high.
Start trampling them now!t
If our enemy's sins were wine,
every jar would overflow.

14 Crowds fill Decision Valley.
The judgment day of the [Lord]
will soon be here—

15 no light from the sun or moon,
and stars no longer shine.

16  t From the heart of Jerusalem
the [Lord] roars like a lion,
shaking the earth and sky.
But the [Lord] is a fortress,
a place of safety
for his people Israel.

God Will Bless //His People

17 I am the [Lord] your God.
And you will know I live on Zion,
my sacred hill,
because Jerusalem will be sacred,
untouched by foreign troops.

18 On that day, fruitful vineyards
will cover the mountains.
And your cattle and goats
that graze on the hills
will produce a lot of milk.
Streams in Judah
will never run dry;
a stream from my house
will flow in Acacia Valley.t

19 Egypt and Edom were cruel
and brutal to Judah,
without a reason.
Now their countries will become
a barren desert,

20 but Judah and Jerusalem
will always have people.

21 I, the [Lord], live on Mount Zion.
I will punish the guilty
and defend the innocent.t