Joel 3

1 For beholde, in those dayes and in that time, when I shall bring againe the captiuitie of Iudah and Ierusalem,

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

5 For ye haue taken my siluer and my golde, and haue caried into your temples my goodly and pleasant things.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

10 Breake your plowshares into swords, and your sithes into speares: let the weake say, I am strong.

Cut your ploughs into swords and your hoes into spears. Let the weak say, ‘For 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.

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

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

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.

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.

14 O multitude, O multitude, come into the valley of threshing: for the day of the Lord is neere in the valley of threshing.

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.

15 The sunne and moone shalbe darkened, and the starres shall withdrawe their light.

The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their splendor.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

20 But Iudah shall dwell for euer, and Ierusalem from generation to generation.

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

21 For I will clense their blood, that I haue not clensed, and the Lord will dwell in Zion.

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