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Joel 3
Christian Standard Bible
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
International Children’s Bible
Joel 3
International Children’s Bible
Punishment for Judah’s Enemies
3 “In those days and at that time,
I will give Judah and Jerusalem back their riches.
2 I will also gather all the nations together.
I will bring them down into the Valley Where the Lord Judges.
And there I will judge them.
Those nations scattered my own people, Israel.
They forced my people to live in other nations.
They divided up my land.
3 They threw lots for my people.
They traded boys for prostitutes.
And they sold girls to buy wine to drink.
4 “Tyre and Sidon and all of you regions of Philistia! What do you have against me? Are you punishing me for something I did? Or are you doing something to hurt me? Then I will quickly do to you what you have done to me. 5 You took my silver and gold. You took my precious treasures and put them in your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. That way you could send them far from their land.
7 “You sent my people to that faraway place. But I will bring them back. And I will do to you what you have done to them. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. Then they will sell them to the Sabean people far away.” The Lord said this.
God Judges the Nations
9 Announce this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
Wake up the soldiers!
Let all the men of war come near and attack.
10 Make your plows into swords.
Make spears from your hooks for trimming trees.
Let the weak say,
“I am strong.”
11 All of you nations, hurry.
Come together in that place.
Lord, send your strong soldiers
to gather the nations.
12 “Wake up, nations.
Come to the Valley Where the Lord Judges.
There I will sit to judge
all the nations on every side.
13 Cut them down like grain
because the harvest is ripe with sin.
Come, walk on them as you would walk on grapes,
because the winepress is full.
The barrels are full of their sins and spilling over.
These people are so evil!”
14 There are many people
in the Valley of Decision.[a]
The Lord’s day of judging is near
in the Valley of Decision.
15 The sun and the moon will become dark.
The stars will stop shining.
16 The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem.
His loud voice will sound like a growl from Jerusalem.
And the sky and the earth will shake.
But the Lord will be a safe place for his people.
He will be a strong place of safety for the people of Israel.
17 “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.
I stay in my holy Mount Zion.
Jerusalem will become holy.
Strangers will never take over that city again.
A New Life Promised for Judah
18 “On that day the mountains will be covered with grapes for sweet wine.
The hills will be covered with cows to give milk.
And water will flow through all the ravines of Judah.
A fountain will flow from the Temple of the Lord.
It will give water to the valley of acacia trees.
19 But Egypt will become empty.
And Edom will become an empty desert.
This is because they were cruel to the people of Judah.
They killed innocent people in the land of Judah.
20 But there will always be people living in Judah.
And people will live in Jerusalem from now on.
21 Egypt and Edom killed my people.
So I will definitely punish them.”
The Lord lives in Jerusalem!
Joel 3
New International Version
Joel 3
New International Version
The Nations Judged
3 [a]“In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes(A) of Judah(B) and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather(C) all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[b](D)
There I will put them on trial(E)
for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered(F) my people among the nations
and divided up my land.
3 They cast lots(G) for my people
and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for wine(H) to drink.
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon(I) and all you regions of Philistia?(J) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.(K) 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[c](L) 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,(M) that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,(N) and I will return(O) on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons(P) and daughters to the people of Judah,(Q) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,(R) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.(S)
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!(T)
Rouse the warriors!(U)
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks(V) into spears.(W)
Let the weakling(X) say,
“I am strong!”(Y)
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble(Z) there.
Bring down your warriors,(AA) Lord!
12 “Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,(AB)
for there I will sit
to judge(AC) all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,(AD)
for the harvest(AE) is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,(AF)
for the winepress(AG) is full
and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes,(AH) multitudes
in the valley(AI) of decision!
For the day of the Lord(AJ) is near
in the valley of decision.(AK)
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.(AL)
16 The Lord will roar(AM) from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;(AN)
the earth and the heavens will tremble.(AO)
But the Lord will be a refuge(AP) for his people,
a stronghold(AQ) for the people of Israel.
Blessings for God’s People
17 “Then you will know(AR) that I, the Lord your God,(AS)
dwell in Zion,(AT) my holy hill.(AU)
Jerusalem will be holy;(AV)
never again will foreigners invade her.(AW)
18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine,(AX)
and the hills will flow with milk;(AY)
all the ravines of Judah will run with water.(AZ)
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house(BA)
and will water the valley of acacias.[d](BB)
19 But Egypt(BC) will be desolate,
Edom(BD) a desert waste,
because of violence(BE) done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever(BF)
and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?(BG)
No, I will not.(BH)”
The Lord dwells in Zion!(BI)
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
International Children’s Bible (ICB) 
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.