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Joel 3:1–5

The Lord Judges the Nations

1 “For behold, iin those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, jI will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And kI will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, and lhave cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.

“What are you to me, mO Tyre and Sidon, and all nthe regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, oI will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. For pyou have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.2

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Joel 3:1–5 — The New International Version (NIV)

“In those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather all nations

and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

There I will put them on trial

for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,

because they scattered my people among the nations

and divided up my land.

They cast lots for my people

and traded boys for prostitutes;

they sold girls for wine to drink.

“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.

Joel 3:1–5 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

For, behold, in those days, and in that time,

When I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will also gather all nations,

And will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat,

And will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel,

Whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

And they have cast lots for my people;

And have given a boy for an harlot,

And sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon,

And all the coasts of Palestine?

Will ye render me a recompence?

And if ye recompense me,

Swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

Because ye have taken my silver and my gold,

And have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

Joel 3:1–5 — New Living Translation (NLT)

 “At the time of those events,” says the Lord,

“when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather the armies of the world

into the valley of Jehoshaphat.

There I will judge them

for harming my people, my special possession,

for scattering my people among the nations,

and for dividing up my land.

They threw dice to decide which of my people

would be their slaves.

They traded boys to obtain prostitutes

and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.

“What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples.

Joel 3:1–5 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

“For behold, in those days and at that time,

When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will also gather all nations,

And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

And I will enter into judgment with them there

On account of My people, My heritage Israel,

Whom they have scattered among the nations;

They have also divided up My land.

They have cast lots for My people,

Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,

And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

“Indeed, what have you to do with Me,

O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?

Will you retaliate against Me?

But if you retaliate against Me,

Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head;

Because you have taken My silver and My gold,

And have carried into your temples My prized possessions.

Joel 3:1–5 — New Century Version (NCV)

“In those days and at that time,

when I will make things better for Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather all the nations together

and bring them down into the Valley Where the Lord Judges.

There I will judge them,

because those nations scattered my own people Israel

and forced them to live in other nations.

They divided up my land

and threw lots for my people.

They traded boys for prostitutes,

and they sold girls to buy wine to drink.

“Tyre and Sidon and all of you regions of Philistia! What did you have against me? Were you punishing me for something I did, or were you doing something to hurt me? I will very quickly do to you what you have done to me. You took my silver and gold, and you put my precious treasures in your temples.

Joel 3:1–5 — American Standard Version (ASV)

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment upon them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations: and they have parted my land, and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. Yea, and what are ye to me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? will ye render me a recompense? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head. Forasmuch as ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly precious things,

Joel 3:1–5 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall turn again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all the nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of my people and mine inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations: and they have parted my land; and they have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and have drunk it. Yea also, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Zidon, and all the districts of Philistia? Will ye render me a recompence? But if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompence upon your own head; because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my beautiful pleasant things,

Joel 3:1–5 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

“In those days and at that time, 

I will bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem. 

I will gather all the nations. 

I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

I will judge them there. 

They scattered the Israelites, the people who belong to me, 

among the nations. 

They divided my land. 

They threw dice for my people. 

They traded boys for prostitutes. 

They sold girls so that they could buy wine to drink. 

“Now what do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon 

and all the regions of Philistia? 

Are you paying me back for something I have done? 

If you are paying me back, 

I will quickly pay you back for what you have done. 

You took my silver and my gold. 

You brought my finest treasures to your temples. 

Joel 3:1–5 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Yes, in those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather all the nations

and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

I will enter into judgment with them there

because of My people, My inheritance Israel.

The nations have scattered the Israelites

in foreign countries

and divided up My land.

They cast lots for My people;

they bartered a boy for a prostitute

and sold a girl for wine to drink.

And also: Tyre, Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia —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. For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures to your temples.

Joel 3:1–5 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

For then, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations. They have divided my land, and cast lots for my people, and traded boys for prostitutes, and sold girls for wine, and drunk it down.

What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will turn your deeds back upon your own heads swiftly and speedily. For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.

Joel 3:1–5 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

For look! In those days, and in that time, when I will return the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations, and I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will argue a case against them there concerning my people and my inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations, and my land that they have divided. For my people they cast lots, and they traded the male child for the prostitute, and the female child they sold for wine and they drank it.

What are you to me, O Tyre and O Sidon, and all of the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying to me what is deserved? If you are recompensing me, I will return swiftly and quickly what you deserve on your head! For you have taken my silver and my gold, and my beautiful treasures you have carried into your temples.

Joel 3:1–5 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

“At that time I will bless Judah and Jerusalem

with great success again.

I will gather all of the nations together.

I will bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

There I will judge them.

I will punish them for what they have done

to my people Israel.

They scattered them among the nations.

They divided up my land among themselves.

They cast lots for my people.

They sold boys into slavery to get prostitutes.

They sold girls to buy some wine to drink.

“Tyre and Sidon, why are you doing things like that to me? And why are you doing them, all of you people in Philistia? Are you trying to get even with me for something I have done? If you are, I will pay you back for it in a quick and speedy way. You took my silver and gold. You carried off my finest treasures to your temples.

Joel 3:1–5 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

“For behold, in those days and at that time,

When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather all the nations

And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

Then I will enter into judgment with them there

On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,

Whom they have scattered among the nations;

And they have divided up My land.

“They have also cast lots for My people,

Traded a boy for a harlot

And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head.

Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples,


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