Joel 3
Living Bible
3 “At that time, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,” says the Lord, 2 “I will gather the armies of the world into the ‘Valley Where Jehovah Judges’[a] and punish them there for harming my people, for scattering my inheritance among the nations and dividing up my land.
3 “They divided up my people as their slaves; they traded a young lad for a prostitute, and a little girl for wine enough to get drunk. 4 Tyre and Sidon, don’t you try to interfere! Are you trying to take revenge on me, you cities of Philistia? Beware, for I will strike back swiftly and return the harm to your own heads.
5 “You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures and carried them off to your heathen temples. 6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, who took them far from their own land. 7 But I will bring them back again from all these places you have sold them to, and I will pay you back for all that you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans far away. This is a promise from the Lord.”
9 Announce this far and wide: Get ready for war! Conscript your best soldiers; collect all your armies. 10 Melt your plowshares into swords, and beat your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak be strong. 11 Gather together and come, all nations everywhere. And now, O Lord, bring down your warriors!
12 “Collect the nations; bring them to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to pronounce judgment on them all. 13 Now let the sickle do its work; the harvest is ripe and waiting. Tread the winepress, for it is full to overflowing with the wickedness of these men.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes waiting in the valley for the verdict of their doom! For the Day of the Lord is near, in the Valley of Judgment. 15 The sun and moon will be darkened and the stars withdraw their light. 16 The Lord shouts from his Temple in Jerusalem, and the earth and sky begin to shake. But to his people Israel, the Lord will be very gentle. He is their Refuge and Strength.
17 “Then you shall know at last that I am the Lord your God in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem shall be mine forever; the time will come when no foreign armies will pass through her anymore.
18 “Sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and the hills shall flow with milk. Water will fill the dry streambeds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the Temple of the Lord to water Acacia Valley. 19 Egypt will be destroyed, and Edom, too, because of their violence against the Jews, for they killed innocent people in those nations.
20 “But Israel will prosper forever, and Jerusalem will thrive as generations pass. 21 For I will avenge the blood of my people; I will not clear their oppressors of guilt. For my home is in Jerusalem with my people.”
Footnotes
- Joel 3:2 Valley Where Jehovah Judges, or “Valley of Jehoshaphat.”
Joel 3
King James Version
3 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence 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 Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord 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 new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
Joel 3
English Standard Version
The Lord Judges the Nations
3 [a] “For behold, (A)in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 (B)I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And (C)I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, 3 and (D)have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.
4 “What are you to me, (E)O Tyre and Sidon, and all (F)the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, (G)I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. 5 For (H)you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.[b] 6 You have sold (I)the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. 7 Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and (J)I will return your payment on 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 (K)Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the Lord has spoken.”
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
(L)Consecrate for war;[c]
stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
let them come up.
10 (M)Beat your plowshares into swords,
and (N)your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”
11 (O)Hasten and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves there.
(P)Bring down your warriors, O Lord.
12 Let the nations stir themselves up
and come up to (Q)the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
(R)for there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.
13 (S)Put in the sickle,
(T)for the harvest is ripe.
(U)Go in, tread,
(V)for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For (W)the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 (X)The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
16 (Y)The Lord roars from Zion,
and (Z)utters his voice from Jerusalem,
(AA)and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is (AB)a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the people of Israel.
The Glorious Future of Judah
17 (AC)“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
(AD)who dwells in Zion, (AE)my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and (AF)strangers shall never again pass through it.
18 “And in that day
(AG)the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and the hills shall flow with milk,
and (AH)all the streambeds of Judah
shall flow with water;
(AI)and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord
and water the Valley of (AJ)Shittim.
19 (AK)“Egypt shall become a desolation
and (AL)Edom a desolate wilderness,
(AM)for the violence done to the people of Judah,
because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 (AN)But Judah shall be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem to all generations.
21 (AO)I will avenge their blood,
blood I have not avenged,[d]
(AP)for the Lord dwells in Zion.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
