< Joel 3 >

1 For beholde, in those dayes and in that time, when I shall bring againe the captiuitie of Iudah and Ierusalem,
“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity,
2 I will also gather all nations, and wil bring them downe into the valley of Iehoshaphat, and will pleade with them there for my people, and for mine heritage Israel, whom they haue scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
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.
3 And they haue cast lottes for my people, and haue giuen the childe for the harlot, and sold the girle for wine, that they might drinke.
They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.
4 Yea, and what haue you to do with me, O Tyrus and Zidon and all the costes of Palestina? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompence mee, swiftly and speedily will I render your recompence vpon your head:
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.
5 For ye haue taken my siluer and my golde, and haue caried into your temples my goodly and pleasant things.
For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples.
6 The children also of Iudah and the children of Ierusalem haue you solde vnto the Grecians, that ye might send them farre from their border.
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.
7 Beholde, I will rayse them out of the place where ye haue sold them, and will render your reward vpon your owne head,
Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads.
8 And I will send your sonnes and your daughters into the hande of the children of Iudah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people farre off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
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.
9 Publish this among the Gentiles: prepare warre, wake vp the mightie men: let all the men of warre drawe neere and come vp.
Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!
10 Breake your plowshares into swords, and your sithes into speares: let the weake say, I am strong.
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’
11 Assemble your selues, and come all yee heathen and gather your selues together round about: there shall the Lord cast downe the mightie men.
Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come vp to the valley of Iehoshaphat: for there will I sit to iudge all the heathen round about.
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.
13 Put in your sithes, for the haruest is ripe: come, get you downe, for the winepresse is full: yea, the winepresses runne ouer, for their wickednesse is great.
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.
14 O multitude, O multitude, come into the valley of threshing: for the day of the Lord is neere in the valley of threshing.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sunne and moone shalbe darkened, and the starres shall withdrawe their light.
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.
16 The Lord also shall roare out of Zion, and vtter his voyce from Ierusalem, and the heauens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord wil be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
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.
17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, mine holy Mountaine: then shall Ierusalem bee holy, and there shall no strangers go thorowe her any more.
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.
18 And in that day shall the mountaines drop downe newe wine, and the hilles shall flowe with milke, and al the riuers of Iudah shall runne with waters, and a fountaine shall come forth of the House of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
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.
19 Egypt shalbe waste, and Edom shall be a desolate wildernesse, for the iniuries of the childre of Iudah, because they haue shed innocent blood in their land.
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.
20 But Iudah shall dwell for euer, and Ierusalem from generation to generation.
But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will clense their blood, that I haue not clensed, and the Lord will dwell in Zion.
For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.”

< Joel 3 >