God Judges the Nations

“For behold, (A)in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
(B)I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I (C)will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
They have (D)cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

“Indeed, what have you to do with Me,
(E)O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?
Will you [a]retaliate against Me?
But if you [b]retaliate against Me,
Swiftly and speedily I will return your [c]retaliation upon your own head;
Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My [d]prized possessions.
Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
You have sold to the Greeks,
That you may remove them far from their borders.

“Behold, (F)I will raise them
Out of the place to which you have sold them,
And will return your [e]retaliation upon your own head.
I will sell your sons and your daughters
Into the hand of the people of Judah,
And they will sell them to the (G)Sabeans,[f]
To a people (H)far off;
For the Lord has spoken.”

(I)Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 (J)Beat your plowshares into swords
And your [g]pruning hooks into spears;
(K)Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”
11 Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause (L)Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.

12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to (M)judge all the surrounding nations.
13 (N)Put in the sickle, for (O)the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the (P)winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For (Q)the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
16 The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
(R)But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.

17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion My (S)holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”

God Blesses His People

18 And it will come to pass in that day
That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
A (T)fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord
And water the Valley of [h]Acacias.

19 “Egypt shall be a desolation,
And Edom a desolate wilderness,
Because of violence against the people of Judah,
For they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall abide forever,
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will (U)acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
For the Lord dwells in Zion.”

Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:4 Or render Me repayment
  2. Joel 3:4 Or repay Me
  3. Joel 3:4 Or repayment
  4. Joel 3:5 Lit. precious good things
  5. Joel 3:7 Or repayment
  6. Joel 3:8 Lit. Shebaites, Is. 60:6; Ezek. 27:22
  7. Joel 3:10 pruning knives
  8. Joel 3:18 Heb. Shittim

The Nations Will Be Judged

[a]For behold, (A)in those days and at that time,
When I (B)restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will (C)gather all the nations
And bring them down to the (D)Valley of [b]Jehoshaphat.
Then I will (E)enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have (F)scattered among the nations;
And they have (G)divided up My land.
They have also (H)cast lots for My people,
[c](I)Traded a boy for a prostitute,
And sold a girl for wine so that they may drink.

Moreover, what are you to Me, (J)Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of (K)Philistia? Are you repaying Me with retribution? But if you are showing Me retribution, swiftly and speedily I will (L)return your retribution on your head! Since you have (M)taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious [d]treasures to your temples, and sold the (N)sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the [e]Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, behold, I am going to (O)stir them up from the place where you have sold them, and return your retribution on your head. I will also (P)sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the (Q)Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.

(R)Proclaim this among the nations:
(S)Prepare for holy war; (T)stir up the warriors!
Have all the soldiers come forward, have them come up!
10 (U)Beat your plowshares into swords,
And your pruning hooks into spears;
(V)Let the weak man say, “I am a warrior.”
11 [f](W)Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there.
Bring down, Lord, Your (X)warriors.
12 Let the nations be awakened
And come up to the (Y)Valley of [g]Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to (Z)judge
All the surrounding nations.
13 (AA)Put in the sickle, for the (AB)harvest is ripe.
Come, (AC)tread the grapes, for the (AD)wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for their (AE)wickedness is great.
14 (AF)Multitudes, multitudes in the (AG)valley of [h]decision!
For the (AH)day of the Lord is near in the valley of [i]decision.
15 The (AI)sun and moon have become dark,
And the stars have lost their brightness.
16 The Lord (AJ)roars from Zion
And (AK)utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the (AL)heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is a (AM)refuge for His people,
And a (AN)stronghold for the sons of Israel.
17 Then you will (AO)know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling on Zion, My (AP)holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be (AQ)holy,
And (AR)strangers will no longer pass through it.

Judah Will Be Blessed

18 And on that day
The (AS)mountains will drip with [j]sweet wine,
And the hills will (AT)flow with milk,
And all the (AU)brooks of Judah will flow with water;
And a (AV)spring will go out from the house of the Lord
And water the Valley of [k]Shittim.
19 Egypt will become a wasteland,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of the (AW)violence [l]done to the sons of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be (AX)inhabited forever,
And Jerusalem for all generations.
21 And I will (AY)avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the Lord dwells in Zion.

Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:1 Ch 4:1 in Heb
  2. Joel 3:2 I.e., YHWH judges
  3. Joel 3:3 Lit Given
  4. Joel 3:5 Lit goodly things
  5. Joel 3:6 Lit sons of Javan
  6. Joel 3:11 Or Come help
  7. Joel 3:12 I.e., YHWH judges
  8. Joel 3:14 I.e., God’s verdict
  9. Joel 3:14 I.e., God’s verdict
  10. Joel 3:18 Lit freshly pressed-out grape juice
  11. Joel 3:18 Or acacias
  12. Joel 3:19 Lit of the sons

The Nations Will Be Judged

“For behold, in those [climactic] days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will gather together all the [Gentile] nations [that were hostile to My people]
And bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat (the Lord has judged).
And there I will deal with them and enter into judgment with them there
For [their treatment of] My people, My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations,
And [because] they have encroached on My land and divided it up.

“They have also cast lots for My people,
And have traded a boy for a prostitute
And have sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon and all the [five small] regions of Philistia? Will you pay Me back for something [I have supposedly done to you]? Even if you do pay Me back, I will swiftly and speedily return your deed [of retaliation] on your own head.(A) Because you have taken My silver and My gold and have carried My precious treasures to your temples and palaces, and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the Greeks, so that you may send them far away from their territory, behold, I am going to stir them up from the place where you have sold them [and return them to their land], and I shall return your action [of retaliation] on your own head. Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the [a]Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.(B)


Proclaim this among the [pagan] nations:
Prepare a war! Stir up the mighty men!
Let all the men of war come near, let them come up!
10 
Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am strong!”(C)
11 
Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there;
Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones (Your warriors).
12 
Let the nations be stirred [to action]
And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to judge and punish
All the surrounding nations.
13 
Put in the sickle [of judgment], for the harvest is ripe;
Come, tread [the grapes], for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for the wickedness [of the people] is great.(D)
14 
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (judgment)!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision [when judgment is executed].(E)
15 
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
16 
The Lord thunders and roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem [in judgment of His enemies],
And the heavens and the earth tremble and shudder;
But the Lord is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold [of protection] to the children of Israel.(F)
17 
Then you will know and understand fully that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers [who do not belong] will no longer pass through it.

Judah Will Be Blessed

18 
And in that day
The mountains will drip with sweet wine
And the hills will flow with milk;
And all the brooks and riverbeds of Judah will flow with water,
And a fountain will go out from the house of the Lord
To water the [desert] Valley of Shittim.(G)
19 
Egypt will become a waste,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of their violence against the children of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.(H)
20 
But Judah shall be inhabited forever
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 
And I shall avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the Lord dwells in Zion.

Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:8 Some archeologists believe this to be the ancient kingdom of Sheba (modern day Yemen). The Sabeans were involved primarily in the lucrative spice trade.

The Nations Judged

[a]“In those days and at that time,
    when I restore the fortunes(A) of Judah(B) and Jerusalem,
I will gather(C) all nations
    and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[b](D)
There I will put them on trial(E)
    for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered(F) my people among the nations
    and divided up my land.
They cast lots(G) for my people
    and traded boys for prostitutes;
    they sold girls for wine(H) to drink.

“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon(I) and all you regions of Philistia?(J) 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.(K) For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[c](L) You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,(M) that you might send them far from their homeland.

“See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,(N) and I will return(O) on your own heads what you have done. I will sell your sons(P) and daughters to the people of Judah,(Q) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,(R) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.(S)

Proclaim this among the nations:
    Prepare for war!(T)
Rouse the warriors!(U)
    Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
    and your pruning hooks(V) into spears.(W)
Let the weakling(X) say,
    “I am strong!”(Y)
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
    and assemble(Z) there.

Bring down your warriors,(AA) Lord!

12 “Let the nations be roused;
    let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,(AB)
for there I will sit
    to judge(AC) all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,(AD)
    for the harvest(AE) is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,(AF)
    for the winepress(AG) is full
    and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”

14 Multitudes,(AH) multitudes
    in the valley(AI) of decision!
For the day of the Lord(AJ) is near
    in the valley of decision.(AK)
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
    and the stars no longer shine.(AL)
16 The Lord will roar(AM) from Zion
    and thunder from Jerusalem;(AN)
    the earth and the heavens will tremble.(AO)
But the Lord will be a refuge(AP) for his people,
    a stronghold(AQ) for the people of Israel.

Blessings for God’s People

17 “Then you will know(AR) that I, the Lord your God,(AS)
    dwell in Zion,(AT) my holy hill.(AU)
Jerusalem will be holy;(AV)
    never again will foreigners invade her.(AW)

18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine,(AX)
    and the hills will flow with milk;(AY)
    all the ravines of Judah will run with water.(AZ)
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house(BA)
    and will water the valley of acacias.[d](BB)
19 But Egypt(BC) will be desolate,
    Edom(BD) a desert waste,
because of violence(BE) done to the people of Judah,
    in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever(BF)
    and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?(BG)
    No, I will not.(BH)

The Lord dwells in Zion!(BI)

Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:1 In Hebrew texts 3:1-21 is numbered 4:1-21.
  2. Joel 3:2 Jehoshaphat means the Lord judges; also in verse 12.
  3. Joel 3:5 Or palaces
  4. Joel 3:18 Or Valley of Shittim