Joel
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Joel 3

The Nations Will Be Judged

1“[a]For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of [b]Jehoshaphat.
Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
And they have divided up My land.
3 “They have also cast lots for My people,
[c]Traded a boy for a harlot
And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

4 Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. 5 Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious [d]treasures to your temples, 6 and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the [e]Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, 7 behold, I am going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. 8 Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.

9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!
Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
11 [f]Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there.
Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones.
12 Let the nations be aroused
And come up to the valley of [g]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 [h]decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of [i]decision.
15 The sun and moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16 The Lord roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the Lord is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.
17 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers will pass through it no more.

Judah Will Be Blessed

18 And in that day
The mountains will drip with [j]sweet wine,
And the hills will flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;
And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord
To water the valley of [k]Shittim.
19 Egypt will become a waste,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of the violence [l]done to the sons of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever
And Jerusalem for all generations.
21 And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the Lord dwells in Zion.

Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:1 Ch 4:1 in Heb
  2. Joel 3:2 I.e. YHWH judges
  3. Joel 3:3 Lit Given
  4. Joel 3:5 Lit goodly things
  5. Joel 3:6 Lit sons of Javan
  6. Joel 3:11 Or Lend aid
  7. Joel 3:12 I.e. YHWH judges
  8. Joel 3:14 I.e. God’s verdict
  9. Joel 3:14 I.e. God’s verdict
  10. Joel 3:18 Lit freshly pressed out grape juice
  11. Joel 3:18 Or acacias
  12. Joel 3:19 Lit of the sons
Joel 3