Joel 3
3
Judgment of the Nations
1Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,#Jr 32:44; 33:7,11; Ezk 39:25
2I will gather all the nations#Is 66:18; Mc 4:12
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.#3:2 = The Lord Will Judge#Jl 3:12,14
I will enter into judgment with them there#Is 66:16; Jr 25:31
because of my people, my inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries#Jr 50:17; Ezk 34:6
and divided up my land.#Ezk 35:10; 36:1–5
3They cast lots for my people;#Ob 11; Nah 3:10
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink.#Am 2:6
4And also: Tyre,#Am 1:9; Zch 9:2–4 Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia#Am 1:6–8; Zch 9:5–7 — 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.#Ps 28:4 5For you took my silver and gold and carried my finest treasures#1Kg 20:6; 2Ch 36:19; Lm 1:10–11 to your temples. 6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks#Is 66:19; Ezk 27:13 to remove them far from their own territory. 7Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them;#Zch 9:13 I will bring retribution on your heads. 8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah,#Is 14:2; 60:14 and they will sell them to the Sabeans,#3:8 Probably the south Arabian kingdom of Sheba (modern Yemen)#Jb 1:15; Ps 72:10; Ezk 38:13 to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
9Proclaim this among the nations:#Jr 51:27–28
Prepare for holy war;#Jr 6:4; Mc 3:5
rouse the warriors;#Is 8:9–10; Jr 46:3–4; Zch 14:2–3
let all the men of war advance and attack!
10Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.#Is 2:4; Mc 4:3
Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”
11Come quickly,#3:11 LXX, Syr, Tg read Gather yourselves and come; Hb obscure all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves.#Ezk 38:15–16
Bring down your warriors there, Lord.#Is 13:3
12Let the nations be roused
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations.#Ps 7:6; 98:9; Is 3:13
13Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe.#Jr 51:33; Hs 6:11
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full;#Is 63:3; Lm 1:15
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is extreme.#Gn 18:20; Rv 19:14–16
14Multitudes, multitudes#Is 34:2–8
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near#Jl 1:15; 2:1,11
in the valley of decision.
15The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining.#Jl 2:10,31
16The Lord will roar from Zion#Hs 11:10; Am 1:2
and make his voice heard from Jerusalem;#Jr 25:30; Am 1:2
heaven and earth will shake.#Ezk 38:19; Jl 2:10; Hg 2:6
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,#Ps 46:1; 62:8; Pr 14:26
a stronghold for the Israelites.#Jr 16:19; Nah 1:7
Israel Blessed
17Then you will know
that I am the Lord your God,#Ex 6:7; 29:46; Ezk 20:20
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.#Is 11:9; 56:7; Ezk 20:40
Jerusalem will be holy,#Is 4:3; Ob 17
and foreigners will never overrun it again.#Is 52:1; Nah 1:15
18In that day
the mountains will drip with sweet wine,#Am 9:13
and the hills will flow with milk.#Ex 3:8
All the streams of Judah will flow with water,#Is 30:25; 35:6
and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house,#Ezk 47:1–12
watering the Valley of Acacias.#3:18 Or Shittim#Nm 25:1; Ezk 47:8
19Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah#Ob 10
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20But Judah will be inhabited forever,#Ezk 37:25; Am 9:15
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21I will pardon their bloodguilt,#3:21 LXX, Syr read I will avenge their blood#Is 4:4
which I have not pardoned,
for the Lord dwells in Zion.
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers