Joel 3

1 For, behold, in those days and in that time, when I will have converted the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

[Yahweh says this]: “At that time [DOU], I will enable [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah to prosper again.

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] in the Valley of Judgment I will gather together [the people of] all the [other] nations; I will judge [and punish] them because they scattered my Israeli people and forced them to go to other countries. They divided up my land

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 they (threw marked stones/cast lots) to determine who would get [each of] my people. Then they sold [some of] the Israeli boys and girls [to get money to pay] for prostitutes and wine to 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.

You [people of] [APO] Tyre and Sidon [cities] and [you people of] the Philistia [region], I certainly have not [RHQ] done anything to harm you! [So] if you are trying to get revenge on me, I will very quickly get revenge on you.

5 For you have carried away my silver and gold. And my desirable and most beautiful, you have taken into your shrines.

You have taken the silver and gold and [other] things from my temple and put them in 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.

[You dragged away] the people of Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, and you took them far away and sold them to people in Greece.

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.

But I will cause my people to want to return from the places to which you sold them, and I will do to you what you did to them.

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.

Then I will cause [some of] your sons and your daughters to be sold to the people of Judah! And [some of] them will be sold to the Sabea people-group, who live far away. [That will certainly happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”

9 Proclaim this among the Gentiles: “Sanctify a war, raise up the strong. Approach, ascend, all men of war.

Proclaim to the [people of all] nations, “Prepare for a war! Summon your soldiers, and tell them to stand in their battle positions.

10 Cut your ploughs into swords and your hoes into spears. Let the weak say, ‘For I am strong.’

[Take] your plows and make swords from them, and [take] your pruning knives and make spears from them. [Even] the weak people must [also] be like [MET] [strong] soldiers.

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.”

All you [people from the] nations that are near [Judah] must come quickly and gather [in the Valley of Judgment].” But Yahweh, [when that happens], send your army [of angels to attack them]!

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.

The [people in] the nations near [Judah] must get ready and come to the Valley of Judgment. There Yahweh will sit and judge [and punish] them.

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.

[They are like] [MET] crops that are ready to be harvested; so [strike them like] [MET] [a farmer] swings his sickle to cut the grain. They are like [MET] grapes that are piled high in the pits where they will be pressed; because they are very wicked, [punish them severely] [MET] now, like [MET] [a farmer] tramples on the grapes until the pits are full of juice.

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.

[There will be] huge crowds of people in that Valley of Judgment. It will soon be the time that Yahweh [will punish them].

15 The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their splendor.

[At that time] there will be no light from the sun or moon, and the stars will not shine.

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.

From Zion [Hill] in Jerusalem Yahweh will shout, and his voice will be like thunder, and his voice will cause the sky and the earth to shake. But Yahweh will protect [MET] his people; he will be like [MET] a strong wall behind which the people of Israel will be protected.

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.

[Yahweh says], “At that time, you Israeli people will know that I am Yahweh, your God. I live on Zion, my sacred hill. Jerusalem will be a sacred [city], and [soldiers from] other countries will never conquer 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.

At that time, there will be vineyards covering [MTY] the hills, and [your cattle and goats on] those hills will produce plenty of milk. The streams in Judah will never dry up. And a stream will flow from my temple into the Acacia Valley [northeast of the Dead Sea].

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.

[The armies of] Egypt and Edom attacked the people of Judah and killed [MTY] many people who had not done anything that was wrong. So [now] those countries will become deserts,

20 And Judea will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for generation upon generation.

but there will always be people living in Jerusalem and [in other places] in Judea.

21 And I will cleanse their blood, which I had not cleansed. And the Lord will remain in Zion.

[I], Yahweh, live on Zion [Hill in Jerusalem], and I will get revenge on the people [of Egypt and Edom] who killed [MTY] [many of my people].”