Joel 3
1 For lo! in those days, and at that time, —when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
Behold, in those days and at that time, when I return the exiles of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 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;
I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will judge them there, because of my people and my inheritance Israel, whom they scattered among the nations, and because they divided up my land.
3 And, for my people, they cast lots, —and gave a boy for a harlot, and a girl sold they for wine—and drank.
They cast lots for my people, traded a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine so they could drink.
4 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.
Now, why are you angry at me, Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? Even if you do repay me, I will immediately return your retribution on your own head.
5 Because, my silver and my gold, ye took away, —and, my richly beautiful things, carried ye into your temples;
For you took my silver and my gold, and you brought my precious treasures into your temples.
6 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.
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, in order to remove them far from their territory.
7 Behold me! rousing them up out of the place whither ye sold them, —So will I bring back your dealing upon your own head.
Look, I am about to stir them up, out of the place where you sold them, and will return payment on your own head.
8 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.
I will sell your sons and your daughters, by the hand of the people of Judah. They will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far off, for Yahweh has spoken.”
9 Proclaim ye this, among the nations, Hallow a war, rouse the mighty ones, let them draw near, come up, all the men of war!
Proclaim this among the nations, “Prepare yourselves for war, rouse the mighty men, let them come near, let all the men of battle come up.
10 Beat your plough-shares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears, —as for the weak, let him say, mighty, I am.
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning knives into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'
11 Give help—and come in, all ye nations on every side, and gather yourselves together, —Thither, bring down, O Yahweh, thy mighty ones!
Hurry and come, all you nearby nations, gather yourselves together there. Yahweh, bring down your mighty warriors.
12 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.
Let the nations wake themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. For there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13 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.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, crush the grapes, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their wickedness is enormous.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the vale of strict decision, —for near is the day of Yahweh, in the vale of strict decision.
There is a tumult, a tumult in the Valley of Judgment. For the day of Yahweh is near in the Valley of Judgment.
15 The sun and the moon, have become dark, —and, the stars, have withdrawn their shining,
The sun and the moon become dark, the stars keep back their brightness.
16 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.
Yahweh will roar from Zion, and raise his voice from Jerusalem. The heavens and earth will shake, but Yahweh will be a shelter for his people, and a fortress for the people of Israel.
17 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.
“So you will know that I am Yahweh your God who lives in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no army will march through her again.
18 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.
It will come about on that day that the mountains will drip with sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with water, and a fountain will come from the house of Yahweh and water the Valley of Shittim.
19 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.
Egypt will become an abandoned devastation, and Edom will become an abandoned wilderness, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But, Judah, age-abidingly, shall remain, and, Jerusalem, to generation after generation.
But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem will be inhabited from generation to generation.
21 And I will free from their blood-guiltiness them whom I had not freed, —for, Yahweh, is about to make his habitation in Zion.
I will avenge their blood that I have not yet avenged, for Yahweh lives in Zion.”
