Joel 3

¹For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

²I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment upon them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations: and they have parted my land,

³and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

⁴Yea, and what are ye to me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? will ye render me a recompense? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head.

⁵Forasmuch as ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly precious things,

⁶and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye may remove them far from their border;

⁷behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head;

⁸and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for Jehovah hath spoken it.

⁹Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.

¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

¹¹Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah.

¹²Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.

¹³Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision.

¹⁵The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

¹⁶And Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but Jehovah will be a refuge unto his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.

¹⁷So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

¹⁸And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

¹⁹Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

²⁰But Judah shall abide for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

²¹And I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion.

Joel 3

¹“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity,

²I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land.

³They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.

⁴Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads.

⁵For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples.

⁶You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.

⁷Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads.

⁸I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

⁹Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!

¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’

¹¹Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD.

¹²Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side.

¹³Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.

¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

¹⁵The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

¹⁶The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

¹⁷Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.

¹⁸And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.

¹⁹Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

²⁰But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

²¹For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.” For the LORD dwells in Zion.