Add parallel Print Page Options

“For, behold, in those days,
    and in that time,
    when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all nations,
    and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat;
    and I will execute judgment on them there for my people,
    and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations.
    They have divided my land,
    and have cast lots for my people,
    and have given a boy for a prostitute,
    and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

“Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre, and Sidon,
    and all the regions of Philistia?
Will you repay me?
    And if you repay me,
    I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head.
Because you have taken my silver and my gold,
    and have carried my finest treasures into your temples,
    and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks,
    that you may remove them far from their border.
Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them,
    and will return your repayment on your own head;
and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah,
    and they will sell them to the men of Sheba,
    to a faraway nation,
    for Yahweh has spoken it.”

Proclaim this among the nations:
    “Prepare for war!
    Stir up the mighty men.
Let all the warriors 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 Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations,
    and gather yourselves together.”
Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh.
12 “Let the nations arouse themselves,
    and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat;
    for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13 Put in the sickle;
    for the harvest is ripe.
    Come, tread, for the wine press is full,
    the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
    For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.
16 Yahweh will roar from Zion,
    and thunder from Jerusalem;
    and the heavens and the earth will shake;
    but Yahweh will be a refuge to his people,
    and a stronghold to the children of Israel.
17 “So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God,
    dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem will be holy,
    and no strangers will pass through her any more.
18 It will happen in that day,
    that the mountains will drop down sweet wine,
    the hills will flow with milk,
    all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters,
    and a fountain will flow out from Yahweh’s house,
    and will water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt will be a desolation,
    and Edom will 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 will be inhabited forever,
    and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 I will cleanse their blood,
    that I have not cleansed:
    for Yahweh dwells in Zion.”

[a]For then, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,(A) I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations. They have divided my land(B) and cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes and sold girls for wine and drunk it down.(C)

What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will turn your deeds back upon your own heads swiftly and speedily.(D) For you have taken my silver and my gold and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.[b] You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, removing them far from their own border. But now I will rouse them to leave the places to which you have sold them, and I will turn your deeds back upon your own heads.(E) I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the Lord has spoken.(F)

Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat

Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate yourselves for war;
    stir up the warriors.
Let all the soldiers draw near;
    let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
    and your pruning hooks into spears;
    let the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”(G)

11 Come quickly,[c]
    all you nations all around;
    gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.(H)
12 Let the nations rouse themselves
    and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit to judge
    all the neighboring nations.(I)

13 Put in the sickle,
    for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
    for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
    for their wickedness is great.(J)

14 Multitudes, multitudes,
    in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
    in the valley of decision.(K)
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.

16 The Lord roars from Zion
    and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
    and the heavens and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people,
    a stronghold for the people of Israel.(L)

The Glorious Future of Judah

17 So you shall know that I, the Lord your God,
    dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
    and strangers shall never again pass through it.(M)

18 In that day
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
    the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the streambeds of Judah
    shall flow with water;
a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord
    and water the Wadi Shittim.(N)

19 Egypt shall become a desolation
    and Edom a desolate wilderness,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah,
    in whose land they have shed innocent blood.(O)
20 But Judah shall be inhabited forever
    and Jerusalem to all generations.(P)
21 I will avenge their blood, and I will not clear the guilty,[d]
    for the Lord dwells in Zion.(Q)

Footnotes

  1. 3.1 4.1 in Heb
  2. 3.5 Or palaces
  3. 3.11 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  4. 3.21 Gk Syr: Heb I will hold innocent their blood that I have not held innocent