< Joel 3 >
1 “For behold, in those days, and in that time, When I turn back [to] the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 Then I have gathered all the nations, And caused them to go down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, And I have been in judgment with them there, Concerning My people and My inheritance—Israel, Whom they scattered among nations, And My land they have apportioned.
3 And for My people they cast a lot, And they give the young man for a harlot, And have sold the young woman for wine, That they may drink.
4 And also, what [are] you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Are you rendering repayment to Me? And if you are giving repayment to Me, Swiftly, quickly, I return your repayment on your head.
5 In that My silver and My gold you took, And My desirable things that are good, You have brought into your temples.
6 And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, You have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border.
7 Behold, I am stirring them up out of the place To where you have sold them, And I have turned back your repayment on your head,
8 And have sold your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the sons of Judah, And they have sold them to Sabeans, To a nation far off, for YHWH has spoken.”
9 Proclaim this among nations, Sanctify a war, stir up the mighty ones, Come near, come up, let all the men of war.
10 Beat your plowshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, “I [am] mighty.”
11 Hurry, and come in, all you nations around, And be gathered together, There cause to come down, O YHWH, Your mighty ones.
12 “Let the nations wake and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I sit to judge all the nations around.
13 Send forth a sickle, For harvest has ripened, Come in, come down, for the press has been filled, Winepresses have overflowed, For great [is] their wickedness.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes [are] in the Valley of Decision, For near [is] the Day of YHWH in the Valley of Decision.
15 Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.
16 And YHWH roars from Zion, And gives forth His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and earth have shaken, And YHWH [is] a refuge to His people, And a stronghold to sons of Israel.
17 “And you have known that I [am] your God YHWH, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain, And Jerusalem has been holy, And strangers do not pass over into it again.”
18 And it has come to pass in that day, The mountains drop down juice, And the hills flow [with] milk, And all streams of Judah go [with] water, And a fountain from the house of YHWH goes forth, And has watered the Valley of Shittim.
19 “Egypt becomes a desolation, And Edom becomes a desolation, a wilderness, For violence [to] sons of Judah, Whose innocent blood they shed in their land.
20 And Judah dwells for all time, And Jerusalem to generation and generation.
21 And I have declared their blood innocent, [That] I did not declare innocent, And YHWH is dwelling in Zion!”
