Joel 3

Judgment of the Nations

3^uYes, in those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, ^v

²I will gather all the nations ^w

and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. ^xy

I will enter into judgment with them there ^z

because of My people, My inheritance Israel.

The nations have scattered the Israelites

in foreign countries ^a

and divided up My land. ^b

³They cast lots for My people; ^c

they bartered a boy for a prostitute

and sold a girl for wine to drink. ^d

⁴And also: Tyre, ^eSidon, and all the territories of Philistia ^f—what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads. ^g5For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures ^hto your temples. ⁶You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks ⁱto remove them far from their own territory. ⁷Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; ^jI will bring retribution on your heads. ⁸I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, ^kand they will sell them to the Sabeans, ^lmto a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.

⁹Proclaim this among the nations: ⁿ

Prepare for holy war; ^o

rouse the warriors; ^p

let all the men of war advance and attack!

¹⁰Beat your plows into swords

and your pruning knives into spears. ^q

Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”

¹¹Come quickly, ^rall you surrounding nations;

gather yourselves. ^s

Bring down Your warriors there, Lord. ^t

¹²Let the nations be roused

and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit down

to judge all the surrounding nations. ^u

¹³Swing the sickle

because the harvest is ripe. ^v

Come and trample the grapes

because the winepress is full; ^w

the wine vats overflow

because the wickedness of the nations is great. ^x

¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes ^y

in the valley of decision!

For the Day of the Lord is near ^z

in the valley of decision.

¹⁵The sun and moon will grow dark,

and the stars will cease their shining. ^a

¹⁶The Lord will roar from Zion ^b

and raise His voice from Jerusalem; ^c

heaven and earth will shake. ^d

But the Lord will be a refuge for His people, ^e

a stronghold for the Israelites. ^f

Israel Blessed

¹⁷Then you will know

that I am Yahweh your God, ^g

who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. ^h

Jerusalem will be holy, ⁱ

and foreigners will never overrun it again. ^j

¹⁸In that day

the mountains will drip with sweet wine, ^k

and the hills will flow with milk. ^l

All the streams of Judah will flow with water, ^m

and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house, ⁿ

watering the Valley of Acacias. ^op

¹⁹Egypt will become desolate,

and Edom a desert wasteland,

because of the violence done to the people of Judah ^q

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

²⁰But Judah will be inhabited forever, ^r

and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

²¹I will pardon their bloodguilt, ^st

which I have not pardoned,

for the Lord dwells in Zion.