Joel 3:1-20
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 3
1'For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land. 3They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a prostitute, And sold a girl for wine so that they may drink.
4Moreover, what are you to Me, Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying Me with retribution? But if you are showing Me retribution, swiftly and speedily I will return your retribution on your head!
5Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples,
6and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory,
7behold, I am going to stir them up from the place where you have sold them, and return your retribution on your head.
8I will also sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,' for the Lord has spoken.
9Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for holy war; stir up the warriors! Have all the soldiers come forward, have them come up!
10Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak man say, 'I am a warrior.'
11 Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, Lord, Your warriors.
12Let the nations be awakened And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations.
13Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15The sun and moon have become dark, And the stars have lost their brightness.
16The Lord roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge for His people, And a stronghold for the sons of Israel.
17Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling on Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will no longer pass through it.
18And on that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord And water the Valley of Shittim.
19Egypt will become a wasteland, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood.
20But Judah will be inhabited forever, And Jerusalem for all generations.
King James Version
3And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
4Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? will ye render me a recompense? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head;
8And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
16The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 3
1Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2I will gather all the nations and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them there because of my people, my inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up my land. 3They cast lots for my people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.
4And also: Tyre, Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia —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.
5For you took my silver and gold and carried my finest treasures to your temples.
6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks to remove them far from their own territory.
7Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; I will bring retribution on your heads.
8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
9Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for holy war; rouse the warriors; let all the men of war advance and attack!
10Beat your plows into swords and your pruning knives into spears. Let even the weakling say, "I am a warrior."
11Come quickly, all you surrounding nations; gather yourselves. Bring down your warriors there, Lord.
12Let the nations be roused and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the surrounding nations.
13Swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample the grapes because the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is extreme.
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 grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.
16The Lord will roar from Zion and make his voice heard from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the Israelites.
17Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will never overrun it again.
18In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house, watering the Valley of Acacias.
19Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
New Living Translation
Chapter 3
1 'At the time of those events,' says the Lord, 'when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. 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 would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.
4What 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.
7But 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!'
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 3
1"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 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, 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.
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.
5For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.
6You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border.
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.
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."
9Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior."
11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O Lord.
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.
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great.
14Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
16 The 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.
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.
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.
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.
20 But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations.
New International Version
Chapter 3
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. 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.
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 plowshares 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.
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.
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 forever and Jerusalem through all generations.
New King James Version