Joel 3
1 For, behold, in those days and in that time, when I will have converted the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
“For behold, in those days, and in that time, When I turn back [to] the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all the Gentiles, and will lead them into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And there I will dispute with them over my people, and over Israel, my inheritance, for they have scattered them among the nations and have divided my land.
Then I have gathered all the nations, And caused them to go down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, And I have been in judgment with them there, Concerning My people and My inheritance—Israel, Whom they scattered among nations, And My land they have apportioned.
3 And they have cast lots over my people; and the boy they have placed in the brothel, and the girl they have sold for wine, so that they might drink.
And for My people they cast a lot, And they give the young man for a harlot, And have sold the young woman for wine, That they may drink.
4 Truly, what is there between you and me, Tyre and Sidon and all the distant places of the Philistines? How will you take vengeance on me? And if you were to revenge yourselves against me, I would deliver a repayment to you, quickly and soon, upon your head.
And also, what [are] you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Are you rendering repayment to Me? And if you are giving repayment to Me, Swiftly, quickly, I return your repayment on your head.
5 For you have carried away my silver and gold. And my desirable and most beautiful, you have taken into your shrines.
In that My silver and My gold you took, And My desirable things that are good, You have brought into your temples.
6 And you, sons of Judah and sons of Jerusalem, you have sold the sons of the Greeks, so that you might drive them far from their own territory.
And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, You have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border.
7 Behold, I will raise them up from the place into which you have sold them, and I will turn back your retribution on your own head.
Behold, I am stirring them up out of the place To where you have sold them, And I have turned back your repayment on your head,
8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.
And have sold your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the sons of Judah, And they have sold them to Sabeans, To a nation far off, for YHWH has spoken.”
9 Proclaim this among the Gentiles: “Sanctify a war, raise up the strong. Approach, ascend, all men of war.
Proclaim this among nations, Sanctify a war, stir up the mighty ones, Come near, come up, let all the men of war.
10 Cut your ploughs into swords and your hoes into spears. Let the weak say, ‘For I am strong.’
Beat your plowshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, “I [am] mighty.”
11 Break out and advance, all nations of the world, and gather together. There the Lord will cause all your strong ones to meet death.”
Hurry, and come in, all you nations around, And be gathered together, There cause to come down, O YHWH, Your mighty ones.
12 Let them arise and ascend to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit, so as to judge all the nations of the world.
“Let the nations wake and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I sit to judge all the nations around.
13 Send forth the sickles, because the harvest has matured. Advance and descend, for the press is full, the pressing room is overflowing. For their malice has been increasing.
Send forth a sickle, For harvest has ripened, Come in, come down, for the press has been filled, Winepresses have overflowed, For great [is] their wickedness.”
14 Nations, nations in the valley of being cut to pieces: for the day of the Lord fittingly takes place in the valley of being cut to pieces.
Multitudes, multitudes [are] in the Valley of Decision, For near [is] the Day of YHWH in the Valley of Decision.
15 The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their splendor.
Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.
16 And the Lord will roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth will be moved. And the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the sons of Israel.
And YHWH roars from Zion, And gives forth His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and earth have shaken, And YHWH [is] a refuge to His people, And a stronghold to sons of Israel.
17 And you will know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will not cross through it anymore.
“And you have known that I [am] your God YHWH, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain, And Jerusalem has been holy, And strangers do not pass over into it again.”
18 And it will happen, in that day, that the mountains will drip sweetness, and the hills will flow with milk. And the waters will pass through all the rivers of Judah. And a fountain will go forth from the house of the Lord, and it will irrigate the desert of thorns.
And it has come to pass in that day, The mountains drop down juice, And the hills flow [with] milk, And all streams of Judah go [with] water, And a fountain from the house of YHWH goes forth, And has watered the Valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt will be in desolation, and Edom will be a wilderness destroyed, because of what they have unfairly done to the sons of Judah, and because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
“Egypt becomes a desolation, And Edom becomes a desolation, a wilderness, For violence [to] sons of Judah, Whose innocent blood they shed in their land.
20 And Judea will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for generation upon generation.
And Judah dwells for all time, And Jerusalem to generation and generation.
21 And I will cleanse their blood, which I had not cleansed. And the Lord will remain in Zion.
And I have declared their blood innocent, [That] I did not declare innocent, And YHWH is dwelling in Zion!”
