Judgment of the Nations

3 u Yes, in those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, v

2 I will gather all the nations w

and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. x y

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

3 They cast lots for My people; c

they bartered a boy for a prostitute

and sold a girl for wine to drink. d

4 And also: Tyre, e Sidon, 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. g 5 For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures h to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks i to remove them far from their own territory. 7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; j I will bring retribution on your heads. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, k and they will sell them to the Sabeans, l m to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.

9 Proclaim this among the nations: n

Prepare for holy war; o

rouse the warriors; p

let all the men of war advance and attack!

10 Beat your plows into swords

and your pruning knives into spears. q

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

11 Come quickly, r all you surrounding nations;

gather yourselves. s

Bring down Your warriors there, Lord. t

12 Let the nations be roused

and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit down

to judge all the surrounding nations. u

13 Swing 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

14 Multitudes, multitudes y

in the valley of decision!

For the Day of the Lord is near z

in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and moon will grow dark,

and the stars will cease their shining. a

16 The 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

17 Then 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

18 In 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. o p

19 Egypt 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.

20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, r

and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 I will pardon their bloodguilt, s t

which I have not pardoned,

for the Lord dwells in Zion.