God’s Spirit Poured Out

28 “And(A) it shall come to pass afterward
That (B)I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
(C)Your sons and your (D)daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My (E)menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

30 “And (F)I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 (G)The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
(H)Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
32 And it shall come to pass
That (I)whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be [a]saved.
For (J)in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be [b]deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among (K)the remnant whom the Lord calls.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:32 Or delivered
  2. Joel 2:32 Or salvation

God Judges the Nations

“For behold, (A)in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
(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.
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.

“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;
Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My [d]prized possessions.
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.

“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.
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.”

(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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:4 Or render Me repayment
  2. Joel 3:4 Or repay Me
  3. Joel 3:4 Or repayment
  4. Joel 3:5 Lit. precious good things
  5. Joel 3:7 Or repayment
  6. Joel 3:8 Lit. Shebaites, Is. 60:6; Ezek. 27:22
  7. Joel 3:10 pruning knives
  8. Joel 3:18 Heb. Shittim

Error and Greed

If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to (A)wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, (B)and to the [a]doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, [b]useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. [c]From (C)such withdraw yourself.

Now godliness with (D)contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, [d]and it is (E)certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be (F)content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

The Good Confession

11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus (G)who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only [e]Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in (H)unapproachable light, (I)whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

Instructions to the Rich

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain (J)riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things (K)to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 (L)storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Guard the Faith

20 O Timothy! (M)Guard what was committed to your trust, (N)avoiding the profane and [f]idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.

Grace be with you. Amen.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 6:3 teaching
  2. 1 Timothy 6:5 NU, M constant friction
  3. 1 Timothy 6:5 NU omits the rest of v. 5.
  4. 1 Timothy 6:7 NU omits and it is certain
  5. 1 Timothy 6:15 Sovereign
  6. 1 Timothy 6:20 empty chatter

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