English Standard Version

New Living Translation

The Lord Judges the Nations

a “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

1

Judgment against Enemy Nations

a“At the time of those events,” says the LORD,
“when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,

2

I 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,

2

I will gather the armies of the world
into the valley of Jehoshaphat.b
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.

3

and 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.

3

They threw dicec 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.

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.

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.

5

For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.b

5

You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples.

6

You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border.

6

You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,d so they could take them far from their homeland.

7

Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head.

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.

8

I 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.”

8

I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia,e a nation far away. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

9

Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war;c
stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
let them come up.

9

Say to the nations far and wide:
“Get ready for war!
Call out your best warriors.
Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.

10

Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”

10

Hammer your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Train even your weaklings to be warriors.

11

Hasten and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.

11

Come quickly, all you nations everywhere.
Gather together in the valley.”
And now, O LORD, call out your warriors!

12

Let the nations stir themselves up
and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.

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.

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.

13

Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.f
Come, tread the grapes,
for the winepress is full.
The storage vats are overflowing
with the wickedness of these people.”

14

Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.

14

Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision.
There the day of the LORD will soon arrive.

15

The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.

15

The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will no longer shine.

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.

16

The 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

The Glorious Future of Judah

“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.

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.

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.

18

In 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.g

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.

19

But 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 shall be inhabited forever,
and Jerusalem to all generations.

20

“But Judah will be filled with people forever,
and Jerusalem will endure through all generations.

21

I will avenge their blood,
blood I have not avenged,d
for the Lord dwells in Zion.”

21

I will pardon my people’s crimes,
which I have not yet pardoned;
and I, the LORD, will make my home
in Jerusalemh with my people.”

Parallel

English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Joel 3

Joel 3