Joel 3
1 “Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity,
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I will cause to return the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land.
Then will I assemble all the nations, and I will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will hold judgment with them there because of my people and my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and for my land [which] they have divided out.
3 They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.
And for my people did they cast lots; and gave a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and drank it.
4 Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads.
And also ye, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all ye districts of Philistia? is this the recompense which ye repay me? or do ye only commence to render me evil?— swiftly and speedily will I bring back your recompense upon your own head;
5 For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples.
Because my silver and my gold have ye taken, and the handsomest of my precious things have ye carried into your temples;
6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.
And the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Jevanim, in order to remove them far from their borders.
7 Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads.
Behold, I will awaken them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and I will bring back your recompense upon your own head;
8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.
And I will deliver your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far off; for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
Proclaim ye this among the nations, Prepare war, wake up the mighty men; let them draw near; let them come up—all the men of war.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’
Beat your plough-shares into swords, and your pruning-knives into spears: let the weak say, I am a hero.
11 Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD.
Assemble hastily together, and come, all ye nations from every side, and gather yourselves together: there doth the Lord strike down thy mighty ones.
12 Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side.
Let the nations awake, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations from every side.
13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.
Put forth the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread down [the grapes]; for the press is full; the vats overflow; for great is their wickedness.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Multitudes, multitudes are in the valley of decision; for near is the day of the Lord in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.
Sun and moon are obscured, and stars withdraw their brightness.
16 The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
And the Lord will cry aloud out of Zion, and from Jerusalem will he send forth his voice; and the heavens and the earth shall quake; but the Lord will be a refuge for his people, and a stronghold for the children of Israel.
17 Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mount: and Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall not pass through her any more.
18 And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.
And it came to pass on that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the ravines of Judah shall flow with water; and a spring shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
Egypt shall become a desolate land, and Edom shall become a desolate wilderness; because of the violence against the children of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.”
And I will avenge their blood that I have not yet avenged; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
