Joel 3
Judgment against Enemy Nations
1“At the time of those events,” says the Lord,
Joel 3:1 Verses 3:1-21 are numbered 4:1-21 in Hebrew text.
“when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2I will gather the armies of the world
into the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Joel 3:2 Jehoshaphat means “the Lord judges.”
There I will judge them
for harming my people, my special possession,
for scattering my people among the nations,
and for dividing up my land.
3They threw dice to decide which of my people
Joel 3:3 Hebrew They cast lots.
would be their slaves.
They traded boys to obtain prostitutes
and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.
4“What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. 5You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. 6You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland.
Joel 3:6 Hebrew to the peoples of Javan.
7“But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done. 8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia, a nation far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Joel 3:8 Hebrew to the Sabeans.
9Say to the nations far and wide:
“Get ready for war!
Call out your best warriors.
Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.
10Hammer your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Train even your weaklings to be warriors.
11Come quickly, all you nations everywhere.
Gather together in the valley.”
And now, O Lord, call out your warriors!
12“Let the nations be called to arms.
Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I, the Lord, will sit
to pronounce judgment on them all.
13Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Joel 3:13 Greek version reads for the harvest time has come. Compare Mark 4:29.
Come, tread the grapes,
for the winepress is full.
The storage vats are overflowing
with the wickedness of these people.”
14Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision.
There the day of the Lord will soon arrive.
15The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will no longer shine.
16The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth will shake.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
a strong fortress for the people of Israel.
Blessings for God’s People
17“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
live in Zion, my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be holy forever,
and foreign armies will never conquer her again.
18In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and the hills will flow with milk.
Water will fill the streambeds of Judah,
and a fountain will burst forth from the Lord’s Temple,
watering the arid valley of acacias.
Joel 3:18 Hebrew valley of Shittim.
19But Egypt will become a wasteland
and Edom will become a wilderness,
because they attacked the people of Judah
and killed innocent people in their land.
20“But Judah will be filled with people forever,
and Jerusalem will endure through all generations.
21I will pardon my people’s crimes,
which I have not yet pardoned;
and I, the Lord, will make my home
in Jerusalem with my people.”
Joel 3:21 Hebrew Zion.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
New Living, NLT, and the New Living Translation logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers. www.tyndale.com
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