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.”
Joel 3
American Standard Version
3 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall [a]bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I 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, 3 and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. 4 Yea, and what are ye to me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? [b]will ye render me a recompense? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your [c]recompense upon your own head. 5 Forasmuch as ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly precious things, 6 and 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; 7 behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your [d]recompense upon your own head; 8 and 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.
9 Proclaim ye this among the nations; [e]prepare war; 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 strong. 11 [f]Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. 12 Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of [g]Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle; for the [h]harvest is ripe: come, [i]tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 16 And 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. 17 So 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.
18 And 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 [j]the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt 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. 20 But Judah shall [k]abide for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 And I will [l]cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed: for Jehovah dwelleth in Zion.
Footnotes
- Joel 3:1 Or, return to
- Joel 3:4 Or, will ye repay a deed of mine, or will ye do aught unto me? swiftly etc.
- Joel 3:4 Or, deed
- Joel 3:7 Or, deed
- Joel 3:9 Hebrew sanctify.
- Joel 3:11 Or, Assemble yourselves
- Joel 3:12 That is, Jehovah judgeth.
- Joel 3:13 Or, vintage
- Joel 3:13 Or, get you down
- Joel 3:18 That is, the valley of accacias.
- Joel 3:20 Or, be inhabited
- Joel 3:21 Or, hold as innocent
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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