Joel 3
3
1For behold in those days, and in that time when I shall bring back the captivity of Juda and Jerusalem:
2I will gather together all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Josaphat: and I will plead with them there for my people, and for my inheritance Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and have parted my land.
3And they have cast lots upon my people: and the boy they have put in the stews, and the girl they have sold for wine, that they might drink.
4But what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coast of the Philistines? will you revenge yourselves on me? and if you revenge yourselves on me, I will very soon return you a recompense upon your own head.
5For you have taken away my silver and my gold: and my desirable and most beautiful things you have carried into your temples.
6And the children of Juda, and the children of Jerusalem you have sold to the children of the Greeks, that you might remove them far off from their own country.
7Behold, I will raise them up out of the place wherein you have sold them: and I will return your recompense upon your own heads.
8And I will sell your sons, and your daughters by the hands of the children of Juda, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far off, for the Lord hath spoken it.
9Proclaim ye this among the nations: prepare war, rouse up the strong: let them come, let all the men of war come up.
10Cut your ploughshares into swords, and your spades into spears. Let the weak say: I am strong.
11Break forth, and come, all ye nations, from round about, and gather yourselves together: there will the Lord cause all thy strong ones to fall down.
12Let them arise, and let the nations come up into the valley of Josaphat: for there I will sit to judge all nations round about.
13Put ye in the sickles, for the harvest is ripe: come and go down, for the press is full, the fats run over: for their wickedness is multiplied.
14Nations, nations in the valley of destruction: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of destruction.
15The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.
16And the Lord shall roar out of Sion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem: and the heavens and the earth shall be moved, and the Lord shall be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17And you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Sion my holy mountain: and Jerusalem shall be holy and strangers shall pass through it no more.
18And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk: and waters shall flow through all the rivers of Juda: and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of thorns.
19Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a wilderness destroyed: because they have done unjustly against the children of Juda, and have shed innocent blood in their land.
20And Judea shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem to generation and generation.
21And I will cleanse their blood which I had not cleansed: and the Lord will dwell in Sion.
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Joel 3: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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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