Joel 3:1–16
3 a “In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunesb of Judahc and Jerusalem,
2 I will gatherd all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.b e
There I will put them on trialf
for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scatteredg my people among the nations
and divided up my land.
3 They cast lotsh for my people
and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for winei to drink.
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidonj and all you regions of Philistia?k 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.l 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.c m 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,n that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,o and I will returnp on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sonsq and daughters to the people of Judah,r and they will sell them to the Sabeans,s a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.t
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!u
Rouse the warriors!v
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooksw into spears.x
Let the weaklingy say,
“I am strong!”z
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemblea there.
Bring down your warriors,b Lord!
12 “Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,c
for there I will sit
to judged all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,e
for the harvestf is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,g
for the winepressh is full
and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes,i multitudes
in the valleyj of decision!
For the day of the Lordk is near
in the valley of decision.l
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.m
16 The Lord will roarn from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;o
the earth and the heavens will tremble.p
But the Lord will be a refugeq for his people,
a strongholdr for the people of Israel.