Joel 3
Christian Standard Bible
Judgment of the Nations
3 Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,(A)
2 I will gather all the nations(B)
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[a](C)
I will enter into judgment with them there(D)
because of my people, my inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries(E)
and divided up my land.(F)
3 They cast lots for my people;(G)
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink.(H)
4 And also: Tyre,(I) Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia(J)—what are you to me? Are you paying me back or trying to get even with me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.(K) 5 For you took my silver and gold and carried my finest treasures(L) to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks(M) to remove them far from their own territory. 7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them;(N) I will bring retribution on your heads. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah,(O) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,[b](P) to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the nations:(Q)
Prepare for holy war;(R)
rouse the warriors;(S)
let all the men of war advance and attack!
10 Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.(T)
Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”
11 Come quickly,[c] all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves.(U)
Bring down your warriors there, Lord.(V)
12 Let the nations be roused
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations.(W)
13 Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe.(X)
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full;(Y)
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is extreme.(Z)
14 Multitudes, multitudes(AA)
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near(AB)
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining.(AC)
16 The Lord will roar from Zion(AD)
and make his voice heard from Jerusalem;(AE)
heaven and earth will shake.(AF)
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,(AG)
a stronghold for the Israelites.(AH)
Israel Blessed
17 Then you will know
that I am the Lord your God,(AI)
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.(AJ)
Jerusalem will be holy,(AK)
and foreigners will never overrun it again.(AL)
18 In that day
the mountains will drip with sweet wine,(AM)
and the hills will flow with milk.(AN)
All the streams of Judah will flow with water,(AO)
and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house,(AP)
watering the Valley of Acacias.[d](AQ)
19 Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah(AR)
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever,(AS)
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 I will pardon their bloodguilt,[e](AT)
which I have not pardoned,
for the Lord dwells in Zion.
Joel 3
Common English Bible
Judgment on the nations
3 Truly, in those days and in that time, I will bring back to Judah and Jerusalem those who were sent away. 2 I will gather all the nations, and I will bring them to the Jehoshaphat Valley. There I will enter into judgment with them in support of my people and my possession, Israel, which they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land, 3 and have cast lots for my people. They have traded boys for prostitutes, and sold girls for wine, which they drank down. 4 What are you to me, Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, then in a flash I will turn your deeds back upon your own heads. 5 You have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples. 6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, removing them far from their own border. 7 But now I am calling them from the places where you have sold them, and I will repay you for your deeds. 8 I will sell your sons and your daughters as a possession of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away; for the Lord has spoken.
Declaration of war
9 Announce this among the nations:
Prepare a holy war,
wake up the warriors;
let all the soldiers draw near,
let them come up!
10 Beat the iron tips of your plows into swords
and your pruning tools into spears;
let the weakling say, “I am mighty.”
11 Come quickly,
all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves there;
bring your mighty ones, Lord.
12 Let the nations prepare themselves,
and come up to the Jehoshaphat Valley;
for there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.
13 Cut with the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Go and crush grapes,
for the winepress is full.
The jars overflow with wine,
for their wickedness is great.
14 Crowd after crowd fills the valley of judgment,
for the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of judgment.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened;
the stars have ceased shining.
Salvation for God’s people
16 The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people,
a shelter for the people of Israel.
17 So you will know that I am the Lord your God,
settle down in Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy,
and never again will strangers pass through it.
18 In that day
the mountains will drip sweet wine,
the hills will flow with milk,
and all the streambeds of Judah
will flow with water;
a spring will come forth from the Lord’s house
and water the Shittim Valley.
19 Egypt will become desolate
and Edom a desolate wilderness.
This is because of the violence done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they have shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem for all generations.
21 I will forgive their bloodguilt,
which I had not forgiven.
I will act on their account;
I will not pardon the guilty.
The Lord dwells in Zion.
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