^14:1A day of the Lord¹ is about to come when your possessions² will be divided as plunder in your midst. ^14:2For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem³ to wage war; the city will be taken, its houses plundered, and the women raped. Then half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be taken away.⁴

^14:3Then the Lord will go to battle⁵ and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days.⁶^14:4On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward.⁷^14:5Then you will escape⁸ through my mountain valley, for the mountains will extend to Azal.⁹ Indeed, you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah¹⁰ of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him.

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Footnotes

1 The eschatological day of the Lord described here (and through v. 8) is considered by many interpreters to refer to the period known as the great tribulation, a seven year time of great suffering by God’s (Jewish) people culminating in the establishing of the millennial reign of the Lord (vv. 9–21). For other OT and NT references to this aspect of the day of the Lord see Amos 9:8–15; Joel 1:15–2:11; Isa 1:24–31; 2:2–4; 4:2–6; 26:16–27:6; 33:13–24; 59:1–60:22; 65:13–25; Jer 30:7–11; 32:36–44; Ezek 20:33–44; Dan 11:40; 12:1; Matt 24:21, 29; 25:31–46; Rev 19:11–16.
2 Heb “your plunder.” Cf. “the wealth you have taken.”
3 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
4 Heb “not be cut off from the city” (so ); “not be removed.”
5 The statement the Lord will go to battle introduces the conflict known elsewhere as the “battle of Armageddon,” a battle in which the Lord delivers his people and establishes his millennial reign (cf. Joel 3:12, 15–16; Ezek 38–39; Rev 16:12–21; 19:19–21).
6 Heb “as he fights on a day of battle” (similar , , ).
7 This seismic activity provides a means of escape from Jerusalem so that the Messiah (the Lord), whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, may destroy the wicked nations in the Kidron Valley (the v. of Jehoshaphat, or of “judgment of the Lord”) without harming the inhabitants of the city.
8 For the reading נַסְתֶּם (nastem, “you will escape”) the presupposes נִסְתַּם (nistam, “will be stopped up”; this reading is followed by ). This appears to derive from a perceived need to eliminate the unexpected “you” as subject. This not only is unnecessary to Hebrew discourse (see “you” in the next clause), but it contradicts the statement in the previous verse that the mountain will be split open, not stopped up.
9 Azal is a place otherwise unknown.
10 The earthquake in the days of King Uzziah, also mentioned in Amos 1:1, is apparently the one attested to at Hazor in 760 b.c.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Look, a day belonging to the Lord is coming when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your presence. I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him.

NLTNew Living Translation

Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Look! A day is coming for Yahweh, when your plunder will be divided in your midst. I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, like when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half, from east to west, by a very great valley; and half of the mountain will withdraw toward the north, and the other half toward the south. And you will flee by the valley of my mountains, because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal, and you will flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. And Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

KJV 1900King James Version

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,

And thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle;

And the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished;

And half of the city shall go forth into captivity,

And the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations,

As when he fought in the day of battle.

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,

Which is before Jerusalem on the east,

And the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west,

And there shall be a very great valley;

And half of the mountain shall remove toward the north,

And half of it toward the south.

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains;

For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal:

Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake

In the days of Uzziah king of Judah:

And the Lord my God shall come,

And all the saints with thee.

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