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3 “At that time I will bless Judah and Jerusalem
with great success again.
2 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.
3 They cast lots for my people.
They sold boys into slavery to get prostitutes.
They sold girls to buy some wine to drink.
4“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. 5You took my silver and gold. You carried off my finest treasures to your temples. 6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. You wanted to send them far away from their own country.
7“But now I will stir them up into action. I will bring them back from the places you sold them to. And I will do to you what you did to them. 8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. And they will sell them to the Sabeans far away.” The Lord has spoken.
9 Announce this among the nations.
Tell them to prepare for battle.
Nations, get your soldiers ready!
Bring all of your fighting men together
and march out to attack.
10 Hammer your plows into swords.
Hammer your pruning tools into spears.
Let those who are weak say,
“We are soldiers!”
11 Come quickly, all of you surrounding nations.
Gather together in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Lord, send your soldiers
down from heaven!
“Stir up the nations into action!
Let them march into the valley
where I will judge them.
I will take my seat in court.
I will judge all of the surrounding nations.
13 My soldiers, swing your sickles.
The nations are ripe for harvest.
Come. Stomp on them as if they were grapes.
Crush them until the winepress of my anger is full.
Do it until the wine spills over
from the places where it is stored.
The nations have committed far too many sins!”
14 Huge numbers of soldiers are gathered in the valley
where the Lord will hand down his sentence.
The day of the Lord is near in that valley.
15 The sun and moon will become dark.
The stars won’t shine anymore.
16 The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem.
His voice will sound like thunder from Zion.
The earth and sky will tremble.
But the Lord will keep the people of Israel safe.
He will be a place of safety for them.
17The Lord says,
“You will know that I am the Lord your God.
I live in Zion.
It is my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be my holy city.
People from other lands
will never attack it again.
18 “At that time fresh wine will drip from the mountains.
Milk will flow down from the hills.
Water will run through all of Judah’s valleys.
A fountain will flow out of my temple.
It will water the places where acacia trees grow.
19 But Egypt will be deserted.
Edom will become a dry and empty desert.
They did terrible harm to the people of Judah.
My people were not guilty of doing anything wrong.
But Egypt and Edom spilled their blood anyway.
20 My people will live in Judah and Jerusalem forever.
The land will be their home for all time to come.
21 Egypt and Edom have spilled my people’s blood.
I will punish them for it.”
The Lord lives in Zion!
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About New International Reader’s Version (1998)The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God. |
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Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. The NIrV text may be quoted for non-commercial usage in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. When quotations from the NIrV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIrV) must appear at the end of each quotation. Any commentary or other Biblical reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the New International Reader’s Version must obtain written permission for use of the NIrV text. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.S. and Canada that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.K., EEC, and EFTA countries that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Hodder Headline Plc., 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, England. Permission requests for non-commercial usage that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, International Bible Society, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. |
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