Joel 3

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

“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 [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

I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land,

3 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.

and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

4 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.

“Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head.

5 You have taken the silver and gold and [other] things from my temple and put them in your temples.

Because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my finest treasures into your temples,

6 [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.

and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their border.

7 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.

Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them, and will return your repayment on your own head;

8 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.”

and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the men of Sheba, to a faraway nation, for the LORD has spoken it.”

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

Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Stir up the mighty men. Let all the warriors draw near. Let them come up.

10 [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.

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’

11 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]!

Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, LORD.

12 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.

“Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

13 [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.

Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”

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

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

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

The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

16 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.

The LORD will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but the LORD will be a refuge to his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.

17 [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.

“So you will know that I am the LORD, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass through her any more.

18 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].

It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters; and a fountain will flow out from the LORD’s house, and will water the valley of Shittim.

19 [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,

Egypt will be a desolation and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

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

But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 [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].”

I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed, for the LORD dwells in Zion.”