1‘At that time I will bless Judah and Jerusalem with great success again.2I will gather together all the nations. I will bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial. I will judge them for what they have done to my people Israel. They scattered them among the nations. They divided up my land among themselves.3They cast lots for my people. They sold boys into slavery to get prostitutes. They sold girls to buy some wine to drink.4‘Tyre and Sidon, why are you doing things like that to me? And why are you doing them, all you people in Philistia? Are you trying to get even with me for something I have done? If you are, I will pay you back for it in a quick and speedy way.5You took my silver and gold. You carried off my finest treasures to your temples.6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. You wanted to send them far away from their own country.7‘But now I will stir them up into action. I will bring them back from the places you sold them to. And I will do to you what you did to them.8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. And they will sell them to the Sabeans. The Sabeans are a nation that is far away.’ The LORD has spoken.9Announce this among the nations. Tell them to prepare for battle. Nations, get your soldiers ready! Bring all your fighting men together and march out to attack.10Hammer your ploughs into swords. Hammer your pruning tools into spears. Let anyone who is weak say, ‘I am strong!’11Come quickly, all you surrounding nations. Gather together in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. LORD, send down your soldiers from heaven!12The LORD says, ‘Stir up the nations into action! Let them march into the valley where I will judge them. I will take my seat in court. I will judge all the surrounding nations.13My soldiers, swing your blades. The nations are ripe for harvest. Come and trample on them as if they were grapes. Crush them until the winepress of my anger is full. Do it until the wine spills over from the places where it is stored. The nations have committed far too many sins!’14Huge numbers of soldiers are gathered in the valley where the LORD will hand down his sentence. The day of the LORD is near in that valley.15The sun and moon will become dark. The stars won’t shine anymore.16The LORD will roar like a lion from Jerusalem. His voice will sound like thunder from Zion. The earth and the heavens will tremble. But the LORD will keep the people of Israel safe. He will be a place of safety for them.
The Lord blesses his people
17The LORD says, ‘You will know that I am the LORD your God. I live in Zion. It is my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be my holy city. People from other lands will never again attack it.18‘At that time fresh wine will drip from the mountains. Milk will flow down from the hills. Water will run through all Judah’s valleys. A fountain will flow out of my temple. It will water the places where acacia trees grow.19But Egypt will be deserted. Edom will become a dry and empty desert. They did terrible harm to the people of Judah. My people were not guilty of doing anything wrong. But Egypt and Edom spilled their blood anyway.20My people will live in Judah and Jerusalem for ever. The land will be their home for all time to come.21Egypt and Edom have spilled my people’s blood. Should I let them escape my judgment? No, I will not.’ The LORD lives in Zion!
Joel 3
English Standard Version
The Lord Judges the Nations
1[1] “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, (Jer 30:3)2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, (Isa 66:16; Jer 25:31; Zep 3:8; Zec 14:2)3and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it. (Ob 1:11; Na 3:10)4“What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily. (Isa 23:1; Jer 47:4; Eze 25:15; Am 1:9; Ob 1:15)5For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.[2] (2Ch 21:16)6You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border. (Joe 3:3)7Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head. (Joe 3:4)8I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the Lord has spoken.” (1Ki 10:1)9Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war;[3] stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. (Mic 3:5)10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” (Isa 2:4)11Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord. (Isa 54:15; Zec 14:5)12Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. (Ps 96:13; Ps 98:9; Ps 110:6; Isa 2:4; Isa 3:13; Joe 3:2; Mic 4:3)13Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. (Isa 63:2; Jer 51:33; Ho 6:11; Mt 13:30; Mt 13:39; Mr 4:29; Joh 4:35; Re 14:15; Re 14:18; Re 14:20)14Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Joe 1:15)15The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. (Joe 2:10)16The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. (Isa 4:6; Isa 25:4; Jer 25:30; Joe 2:10; Joe 2:11; Am 1:2)
The Glorious Future of Judah
17“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it. (Ps 48:1; Isa 52:1; Isa 65:11; Jer 31:23; Eze 6:7; Eze 43:7; Joe 2:1; Joe 2:27; Joe 3:21; Na 1:15; Zec 14:21; Re 21:27; Re 22:15)18“And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Shittim. (Nu 25:1; Isa 30:25; Jer 31:12; Eze 47:1; Am 9:13)19“Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. (Isa 19:1; Isa 34:5; Ob 1:10)20But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. (Ps 125:1; Eze 37:25)21I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged,[4] for the Lord dwells in Zion.” (Isa 4:4; Eze 36:25; Eze 36:29; Joe 3:17)