Joel 3
Amplified Bible
The Nations Will Be Judged
3 “For behold, in those [climactic] days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2
I will gather together all the [Gentile] nations [that were hostile to My people]
And bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat (the Lord has judged).
And there I will deal with them and enter into judgment with them there
For [their treatment of] My people, My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations,
And [because] they have encroached on My land and divided it up.
3
“They have also cast lots for My people,
And have traded a boy for a prostitute
And have sold a girl for wine that they may drink.
4 Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon and all the [five small] regions of Philistia? Will you pay Me back for something [I have supposedly done to you]? Even if you do pay Me back, I will swiftly and speedily return your deed [of retaliation] on your own head.(A) 5 Because you have taken My silver and My gold and have carried My precious treasures to your temples and palaces, 6 and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the Greeks, so that you may send them far away from their territory, 7 behold, I am going to stir them up from the place where you have sold them [and return them to their land], and I shall return your action [of retaliation] on your own head. 8 Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the [a]Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.(B)
9
Proclaim this among the [pagan] nations:
Prepare a war! Stir up the mighty men!
Let all the men of war come near, let them come up!
10
Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am strong!”(C)
11
Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there;
Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones (Your warriors).
12
Let the nations be stirred [to action]
And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to judge and punish
All the surrounding nations.
13
Put in the sickle [of judgment], for the harvest is ripe;
Come, tread [the grapes], for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for the wickedness [of the people] is great.(D)
14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (judgment)!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision [when judgment is executed].(E)
15
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16
The Lord thunders and roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem [in judgment of His enemies],
And the heavens and the earth tremble and shudder;
But the Lord is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold [of protection] to the children of Israel.(F)
17
Then you will know and understand fully that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers [who do not belong] will no longer pass through it.
Judah Will Be Blessed
18
And in that day
The mountains will drip with sweet wine
And the hills will flow with milk;
And all the brooks and riverbeds of Judah will flow with water,
And a fountain will go out from the house of the Lord
To water the [desert] Valley of Shittim.(G)
19
Egypt will become a waste,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of their violence against the children of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.(H)
20
But Judah shall be inhabited forever
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21
And I shall avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the Lord dwells in Zion.
Notas al pie
- Joel 3:8 Some archeologists believe this to be the ancient kingdom of Sheba (modern day Yemen). The Sabeans were involved primarily in the lucrative spice trade.
Joel 3
Expanded Bible
Punishment for Judah’s Enemies
3 “[L For look/T behold] In those days and at that time,
when I will ·make things better for [restore the fortunes of; or return the exiles/captives of] Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all the nations together
and bring them down into the Valley ·Where the Lord Judges [L of Jehoshaphat; C Jehoshaphat means “the Lord judges”].
There I will ·judge [enter into judgment against] them,
because those nations scattered my ·own people [L people, my heritage] Israel
·and forced them to live in other [L among the] nations.
They divided up my land
3 and ·threw [T cast] lots for my people.
They traded boys for prostitutes,
and they sold girls to buy wine to ·drink [get drunk].
4 “Tyre and Sidon and all of you regions of Philistia! What did you have against me? Were you ·punishing me [paying me back; taking vengeance] for something I did, ·or were you doing something to hurt me? [or If you were trying to pay me back,] I will very quickly ·do to you [L return on your heads] what you have done to me. 5 You took my silver and gold, and you put my ·precious [costly; rich; prized] treasures in your ·temples [or palaces]. 6 You sold the ·people [sons; descendants] of Judah and Jerusalem to the [L sons/descendants of the] Greeks so that you could ·send [remove] them far from their ·land [L border].
7 “[L Look; T Behold] You sent my people to that faraway place, but I will ·get them [rouse them; stir them up] and bring them back, and I will ·do to you [L return on your heads] what you have done to them. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabean people [C Arab merchants from the southeast; Job 1:15] far away.” The Lord said this.
God Judges the Nations
9 ·Announce [Proclaim] this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
·Wake up [Rouse; Call out] the ·soldiers [warriors; mighty men]!
Let all the men of war come near and attack.
10 ·Make swords from your plows [T Beat your plowshares into swords],
and make spears from your ·hooks for trimming trees [pruning hooks; C the opposite of Is. 2:4].
Let even the weak person say,
“I am ·a soldier [a warrior; or strong].”
11 All of you nations, hurry,
and ·come together [assemble] in that place.
Lord, ·send your soldiers
to gather the nations [L bring down your warriors].
12 “·Wake up, nations [or Let the nations be roused],
and come ·to attack in [up to] the Valley ·Where the Lord Judges [L of Jehoshaphat; v. 2].
There I will sit to judge
all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the ·cutting tool [sickle],
because the harvest is ripe.
Come, ·walk on them as you would walk on grapes to get their juice [L trample the grapes],
because the winepress is full
and the ·barrels [vats] are ·spilling over [overflowing],
because ·these people are so evil [their wickedness/evil is great]!”
14 ·There are huge numbers of people [L Multitudes, multitudes]
in the Valley of Decision [C the place of the Lord’s verdict against the nations; vv. 2, 12],
because the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord; 1:15] is near
in the Valley of Decision.
15 The sun and the moon will become dark,
and the stars will ·stop shining [L withhold their brightness; 2:10].
16 The Lord ·will roar like a lion from Jerusalem [L roars from Zion];
his loud voice will thunder from ·that city [L Jerusalem],
and the ·sky [heavens] and the earth will shake.
But the Lord will be a ·safe place [refuge] for his people,
a ·strong place of safety [stronghold] for the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel.
17 “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
live on my holy Mount Zion.
Jerusalem will be a holy place,
and ·strangers [foreigners] will never even go through it again [C as invaders].
A New Life Promised for Judah
18 “On that day ·wine [sweet/new wine] will drip from the mountains,
milk will flow from the hills [C symbols of bounty and prosperity],
and water will run through all the ·ravines [streambeds] of Judah.
A fountain will flow from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord
and give water to the valley of ·acacia trees [L Shittim; C perhaps a proper name; Num. 25:1].
19 But Egypt will ·become empty [be desolate],
and Edom an ·empty desert [deserted wilderness],
because ·they were cruel [of their violence] to the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Judah.
They ·killed innocent people [L shed innocent blood] in that land.
20 But ·there will always be people living in Judah [Judah will be inhabited forever],
and ·people will live in Jerusalem from now on [L Jerusalem from generation to generation].
21 ·Egypt and Edom killed my people,
so I will definitely punish them [L I will avenge/punish their blood, which I have not yet avenged/punished].”
The Lord ·lives [dwells] in Jerusalem!
Joel 3
New King James Version
God Judges the Nations
3 “For behold, (A)in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 (B)I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I (C)will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
3 They have (D)cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
4 “Indeed, what have you to do with Me,
(E)O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?
Will you [a]retaliate against Me?
But if you [b]retaliate against Me,
Swiftly and speedily I will return your [c]retaliation upon your own head;
5 Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My [d]prized possessions.
6 Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
You have sold to the Greeks,
That you may remove them far from their borders.
7 “Behold, (F)I will raise them
Out of the place to which you have sold them,
And will return your [e]retaliation upon 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 (G)Sabeans,[f]
To a people (H)far off;
For the Lord has spoken.”
9 (I)Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 (J)Beat your plowshares into swords
And your [g]pruning hooks into spears;
(K)Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”
11 Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause (L)Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.
12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to (M)judge all the surrounding nations.
13 (N)Put in the sickle, for (O)the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the (P)winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For (Q)the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
16 The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
(R)But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.
17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion My (S)holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”
God Blesses His People
18 And it will come to pass in that day
That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
A (T)fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord
And water the Valley of [h]Acacias.
19 “Egypt shall be a desolation,
And Edom a desolate wilderness,
Because of violence against the people of Judah,
For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall abide forever,
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will (U)acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
For the Lord dwells in Zion.”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
