Joel 3

1 For, behold, in those days and in that time, when I will have converted the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

For lo! in those days, and at that time, —when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 I will gather all the Gentiles, and will lead them into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And there I will dispute with them over my people, and over Israel, my inheritance, for they have scattered them among the nations and have divided my land.

Then will I gather all the nations, and bring them down into the Vale of Jehoshaphat, —and will enter into judgment with them there, concerning my people, and mine inheritance Israel, whom they scattered among the nations, and, my land, they apportioned;

3 And they have cast lots over my people; and the boy they have placed in the brothel, and the girl they have sold for wine, so that they might drink.

And, for my people, they cast lots, —and gave a boy for a harlot, and a girl sold they for wine—and drank.

4 Truly, what is there between you and me, Tyre and Sidon and all the distant places of the Philistines? How will you take vengeance on me? And if you were to revenge yourselves against me, I would deliver a repayment to you, quickly and soon, upon your head.

Moreover also, what have, ye, to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the circuit of Palestine? A recompense, are ye paying back unto me? But, though ye should make a recompense unto me, swiftly, speedily, would I return your recompense upon your own head.

5 For you have carried away my silver and gold. And my desirable and most beautiful, you have taken into your shrines.

Because, my silver and my gold, ye took away, —and, my richly beautiful things, carried ye into your temples;

6 And you, sons of Judah and sons of Jerusalem, you have sold the sons of the Greeks, so that you might drive them far from their own territory.

And, the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem, ye sold to the sons of Greece, —that they might be far removed from their own boundary.

7 Behold, I will raise them up from the place into which you have sold them, and I will turn back your retribution on your own head.

Behold me! rousing them up out of the place whither ye sold them, —So will I bring back your dealing upon your own head.

8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.

And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to Sabeans, unto a nation afar off, —for, Yahweh, hath spoken.

9 Proclaim this among the Gentiles: “Sanctify a war, raise up the strong. Approach, ascend, all men of war.

Proclaim ye this, among the nations, Hallow a war, rouse the mighty ones, let them draw near, come up, all the men of war!

10 Cut your ploughs into swords and your hoes into spears. Let the weak say, ‘For I am strong.’

Beat your plough-shares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears, —as for the weak, let him say, mighty, I am.

11 Break out and advance, all nations of the world, and gather together. There the Lord will cause all your strong ones to meet death.”

Give help—and come in, all ye nations on every side, and gather yourselves together, —Thither, bring down, O Yahweh, thy mighty ones!

12 Let them arise and ascend to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit, so as to judge all the nations of the world.

Let the nations, be roused, and come up, into the Vale of Jehoshaphat, —for, there, will I sit to judge all the nations, on every side.

13 Send forth the sickles, because the harvest has matured. Advance and descend, for the press is full, the pressing room is overflowing. For their malice has been increasing.

Thrust ye in the vintage knife, for, grown ripe, is the vintage, —Go in, tread down, for full is the winepress, flow over do the vats, for abundant is their wickedness.

14 Nations, nations in the valley of being cut to pieces: for the day of the Lord fittingly takes place in the valley of being cut to pieces.

Multitudes, multitudes, in the vale of strict decision, —for near is the day of Yahweh, in the vale of strict decision.

15 The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their splendor.

The sun and the moon, have become dark, —and, the stars, have withdrawn their shining,

16 And the Lord will roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth will be moved. And the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the sons of Israel.

And, Yahweh, out of Zion, will roar, and, out of Jerusalem, will utter his voice, and the heavens and the earth, shall tremble, —but, Yahweh, shall be a shelter to his people, and a refuge to the sons of Israel.

17 And you will know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will not cross through it anymore.

So shall ye know that, I, Yahweh, am your God, making my habitation in Zion my holy mountain, —So shall, Jerusalem, be, holy, and, foreigners, shall pass through her no more.

18 And it will happen, in that day, that the mountains will drip sweetness, and the hills will flow with milk. And the waters will pass through all the rivers of Judah. And a fountain will go forth from the house of the Lord, and it will irrigate the desert of thorns.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow down with milk, and, all the channels of Judah, shall flow down with waters, —and, a spring, out of the house of Yahweh, shall come forth, and shall water the torrent-valley of the acacias.

19 Egypt will be in desolation, and Edom will be a wilderness destroyed, because of what they have unfairly done to the sons of Judah, and because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

Egypt, to a desolation, shall be turned, and, Edom, to a desert most desolate, shall be changed, —because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, in that they shed innocent blood in their land.

20 And Judea will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for generation upon generation.

But, Judah, age-abidingly, shall remain, and, Jerusalem, to generation after generation.

21 And I will cleanse their blood, which I had not cleansed. And the Lord will remain in Zion.

And I will free from their blood-guiltiness them whom I had not freed, —for, Yahweh, is about to make his habitation in Zion.