Joel 3

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

[Yahweh says this]: “At that time [DOU], I will enable [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah to prosper again.

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.

[Then] in the Valley of Judgment I will gather together [the people of] all the [other] nations; I will judge [and punish] them because they scattered my Israeli people and forced them to go to other countries. 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.

and they (threw marked stones/cast lots) to determine who would get [each of] my people. Then they sold [some of] the Israeli boys and girls [to get money to pay] for prostitutes and 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:

You [people of] [APO] Tyre and Sidon [cities] and [you people of] the Philistia [region], I certainly have not [RHQ] done anything to harm you! [So] if you are trying to get revenge on me, I will very quickly get revenge on you.

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

You have taken the silver and gold and [other] things from my temple and put them in 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 dragged away] the people of Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, and you took them far away and sold them to people in Greece.

7 Beholde, I will rayse them out of the place where ye haue sold them, and will render your reward vpon your owne head,

But I will cause my people to want to return from the places to which you sold them, and I will do to you what you did to them.

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.

Then I will cause [some of] your sons and your daughters to be sold to the people of Judah! And [some of] them will be sold to the Sabea people-group, who live far away. [That will certainly happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”

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 to the [people of all] nations, “Prepare for a war! Summon your soldiers, and tell them to stand in their battle positions.

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

[Take] your plows and make swords from them, and [take] your pruning knives and make spears from them. [Even] the weak people must [also] be like [MET] [strong] soldiers.

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.

All you [people from the] nations that are near [Judah] must come quickly and gather [in the Valley of Judgment].” But Yahweh, [when that happens], send your army [of angels to attack them]!

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.

The [people in] the nations near [Judah] must get ready and come to the Valley of Judgment. There Yahweh will sit and judge [and punish] them.

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.

[They are like] [MET] crops that are ready to be harvested; so [strike them like] [MET] [a farmer] swings his sickle to cut the grain. They are like [MET] grapes that are piled high in the pits where they will be pressed; because they are very wicked, [punish them severely] [MET] now, like [MET] [a farmer] tramples on the grapes until the pits are full of juice.

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

[There will be] huge crowds of people in that Valley of Judgment. It will soon be the time that Yahweh [will punish them].

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

[At that time] there will be no light from the sun or moon, and the stars will not 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.

From Zion [Hill] in Jerusalem Yahweh will shout, and his voice will be like thunder, and his voice will cause the sky and the earth to shake. But Yahweh will protect [MET] his people; he will be like [MET] a strong wall behind which the people of Israel will be protected.

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.

[Yahweh says], “At that time, you Israeli people will know that I am Yahweh, your God. I live on Zion, my sacred hill. Jerusalem will be a sacred [city], and [soldiers from] other countries will never conquer it again.

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.

At that time, there will be vineyards covering [MTY] the hills, and [your cattle and goats on] those hills will produce plenty of milk. The streams in Judah will never dry up. And a stream will flow from my temple into the Acacia Valley [northeast of the Dead Sea].

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.

[The armies of] Egypt and Edom attacked the people of Judah and killed [MTY] many people who had not done anything that was wrong. So [now] those countries will become deserts,

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

but there will always be people living in Jerusalem and [in other places] in Judea.

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

[I], Yahweh, live on Zion [Hill in Jerusalem], and I will get revenge on the people [of Egypt and Edom] who killed [MTY] [many of my people].”