Joel 3
3
The Lord Will Judge the Nations
1At that time I, the Lord, will make Judah and Jerusalem prosperous again. 2Then in Judgment Valley#3.2 Judgment Valley: The Hebrew text has “Jehoshaphat Valley,” which means “Valley of the Lord's Judgment.” This valley is mentioned here and in verse 12, but nowhere else in the Bible. I will bring together the nations that scattered my people Israel everywhere in the world, and I will bring charges against those nations. They divided up my land 3and gambled to see who would get my people; they sold boys and girls to pay for prostitutes and wine.
4 #
Is 23.1-18; Ez 26.1—28.26; Am 1.9,10; Zec 9.1-4; Mt 11.21,22; Lk 10.13,14;
Is 14.29-31; Jr 47.1-7; Ez 25.15-17; Am 1.6-8; Zep 2.4-7; Zec 9.5-7. You people of Tyre and Sidon#3.4 Tyre and Sidon: Two Phoenician coastal cities. and you Philistines, why are you doing this? Are you trying to get even with me? I'll strike back before you know what's happened. 5You've taken my prized possessions, including my silver and gold, and carried them off to your temples.#3.5 temples: Or “palaces.” 6You have dragged the people of Judah and Jerusalem from their land and sold them to the Greeks.
7But I'll make the people of Judah determined to come home, and what happened to them will happen to you. 8I'll hand over your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans,#3.8 Sabeans: The people of Seba, a region in southwest Arabia. who live far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Judgment in Judgment Valley
9Say to the nations:
“Get ready for war!
Be eager to fight.
Line up for battle
and prepare to attack.
10 #
Is 2.4; Mic 4.3. Make swords out of plows
and spears out of garden tools.
Strengthen every weakling.”
11Hurry, all you nations!
Come quickly.
Ask the Lord to bring
his warriors along.#3.11 Ask … along: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
12You must come now
to Judgment Valley,#3.12 Judgment Valley: See the note at 3.2.
where the Lord will judge
the surrounding nations.
13 #
Rev 14.14-16;
Rev 14.19,20; 19.15. They are a field of ripe crops.
Bring in the harvest!
They are grapes piled high.
Start trampling them now!#3.13 grapes … now: People trampled grapes with their bare feet to squeeze out the juice.
If our enemy's sins were wine,
every jar would overflow.
14Crowds fill Decision Valley.
The judgment day of the Lord
will soon be here—
15no light from the sun or moon,
and stars no longer shine.
16 #
Am 1.2. From the heart of Jerusalem
the Lord roars like a lion,
shaking the earth and sky.
But the Lord is a fortress,
a place of safety
for his people Israel.
God Will Bless His People
17I am the Lord your God.
And you will know I live on Zion,
my sacred hill,
because Jerusalem will be sacred,
untouched by foreign troops.
18On that day, fruitful vineyards
will cover the mountains.
And your cattle and goats
that graze on the hills
will produce a lot of milk.
Streams in Judah
will never run dry;
a stream from my house
will flow in Acacia Valley.#3.18 Acacia Valley: In the plains of Moab, northeast of the Dead Sea.
19Egypt and Edom were cruel
and brutal to Judah,
without a reason.
Now their countries will become
a barren desert,
20but Judah and Jerusalem
will always have people.
21I, the Lord, live on Mount Zion.
I will punish the guilty
and defend the innocent.#3.21 I will … innocent: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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Joel 3: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Joel 3
3
The nations judged
# In Hebrew texts 3:1-21 is numbered 4:1-21. 1‘In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2I will gather all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.#3:2 Jehoshaphat means the Lord judges; also in verse 12.
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.
3They cast lots for my people
and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for wine to drink.
4‘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. 5For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.#3:5 Or palaces 6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, 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, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. 8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.’ The Lord has spoken.
9Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10Beat your ploughshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
‘I am strong!’
11Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble there.
Bring down your warriors, Lord!
12‘Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit
to judge all the nations on every side.
13Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,
for the winepress is full
and the vats overflow –
so great is their wickedness!’
14Multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
16The Lord will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the heavens will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.
Blessings for God’s people
17‘Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
never again will foreigners invade her.
18‘In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
and the hills will flow with milk;
all the ravines of Judah will run with water.
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house
and will water the valley of acacias.#3:18 Or Valley of Shittim
19But Egypt will be desolate,
Edom a desert waste,
because of violence done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20Judah will be inhabited for ever
and Jerusalem through all generations.
21Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?
No, I will not.’
The Lord dwells in Zion!
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